main vs reserve

main

noun
  • The primary character that one plays in a video game in which one can play more than one character. 

  • That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross. 

  • The high seas. 

  • A large cable or pipe providing utility service to an area or a building, such as a water main or electric main. 

  • A banker's shovel for coins. 

verb
  • To mainly play a specific character or side, or with specific equipment, during a game. 

adj
  • Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal. 

  • Big; angry. 

  • Chief, most important, or principal in extent, size, or strength; consisting of the largest part. 

  • Belonging to or connected with the principal mast in a vessel. 

adv
  • Exceedingly, extremely, greatly, mightily, very, very much. 

reserve

noun
  • A member of a team who does not participate from the start of the game, but can be used to replace tired or injured team-mates. 

  • A reserve price in an auction. 

  • Wine held back and aged before being sold. 

  • A body of troops kept in the rear of an army drawn up for battle, reserved to support the other lines as occasion may require; a force or body of troops kept for an exigency. 

  • Absence of color or decoration; the state of being left plain. 

  • The act of reserving or keeping back; reservation; exception. 

  • A tract of land reserved, or set apart, for a particular purpose 

  • A resist. 

  • Restraint of freedom in words or actions; backwardness; caution in personal behavior. 

  • A preparation used on an object being electroplated to fix the limits of the deposit. 

  • In exhibitions, a distinction indicating that the recipient will get a prize in the event of another person being disqualified. 

  • A tract of land set apart for the use of an Aboriginal group; Indian reserve (compare US reservation.) 

  • Funds kept on hand to meet planned or unplanned financial requirements. 

  • A group or pile of cards dealt out at the beginning of a patience or solitaire game to be used during play. 

  • A natural resource known to exist but not currently exploited. 

verb
  • To keep back; to retain. 

  • To book in advance; to make a reservation. 

  • To keep in store for future or special use. 

How often have the words main and reserve occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )