main — chief in size, extent, or importance; principal; leading: the company's main office; the main features of a plan.
maine — a state in the NE United States, on the Atlantic coast. 33,215 sq. mi. (86,027 sq. km). Capital: Augusta. Abbreviation: ME (for use with zip code), Me.
mane — the long hair growing on the back of or around the neck and neighboring parts of some animals, as the horse or lion.
mckean — Tom. born 1963, Scottish athlete: European 800 metres gold medallist (1990)
mcqueen — Alexander. 1969–2011, British fashion designer
mean — to intend for a particular purpose, destination, etc.: They were meant for each other. Synonyms: destine, foreordain.
mien — air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character, feeling, etc.: a man of noble mien.
nene — a barred, gray-brown wild goose, Nesochen sandvicensis, native to Hawaii, where it is the state bird.
pain — physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.
paine — Albert Bigelow [big-uh-loh] /ˈbɪg əˌloʊ/ (Show IPA), 1861–1937, U.S. author and editor.
pane — (of food) prepared with bread crumbs; breaded.
payne — John Howard, 1791–1852, U.S. actor and dramatist.
plain — clear or distinct to the eye or ear: a plain trail to the river; to stand in plain view.
preen — (of animals, especially birds) to trim or dress (feathers, fur, etc.) with the beak or tongue: The peacock preened itself on the lawn.
queen — Ellery, joint pen name of Manfred Bennington Lee and Frederick Dannay.
rain — water that is condensed from the aqueous vapor in the atmosphere and falls to earth in drops more than 1/50 inch (0.5 mm) in diameter. Compare drizzle (def 6).
reign — the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.
rein — Often, reins. a leather strap, fastened to each end of the bit of a bridle, by which the rider or driver controls a horse or other animal by pulling so as to exert pressure on the bit.
sain — to make the sign of the cross on, as for protection against evil influences.
sane — free from mental derangement; having a sound, healthy mind: a sane person.
scene — the place where some action or event occurs: He returned to the scene of the murder.
screen — a movable or fixed device, usually consisting of a covered frame, that provides shelter, serves as a partition, etc.
spain — a kingdom in SW Europe. Including the Balearic and Canary islands, 194,988 sq. mi. (505,019 sq. km). Capital: Madrid.
spleen — a highly vascular, glandular, ductless organ, situated in humans at the cardiac end of the stomach, serving chiefly in the formation of mature lymphocytes, in the destruction of worn-out red blood cells, and as a reservoir for blood.
sprain — to overstrain or wrench (the ligaments of an ankle, wrist, or other joint) so as to injure without fracture or dislocation.
stain — a discoloration produced by foreign matter having penetrated into or chemically reacted with a material; a spot not easily removed.
steen — Jan [yahn] /yɑn/ (Show IPA), 1626–79, Dutch painter.
strain — to draw tight or taut, especially to the utmost tension; stretch to the full: to strain a rope.
thane — Early English History. a member of any of several aristocratic classes of men ranking between earls and ordinary freemen, and granted lands by the king or by lords for military service.
train — Railroads. a self-propelled, connected group of rolling stock.
blaine — James G(illespie)1830-93; U.S. statesman: secretary of state (1881, 1889-92)
brain — Your brain is the organ inside your head that controls your body's activities and enables you to think and to feel things such as heat and pain.
cain — (in Scotland and Ireland) payment in kind, usually farm produce paid as rent
caine — Sir Michael. real name Maurice Micklewhite. born 1933, British film actor. His films include The Ipcress File (1965), Get Carter (1971), Educating Rita (1983), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and The Cider House Rules (1999)
cane — Cane is used to refer to the long, hollow, hard stems of plants such as bamboo. Strips of cane are often used to make furniture, and some types of cane can be crushed and processed to make sugar.
chain — A chain consists of metal rings connected together in a line.
cheyne — Thomas Kelly [kel-ee] /ˈkɛl i/ (Show IPA), 1841–1915, English clergyman and Biblical scholar.
clean — Something that is clean is free from dirt or unwanted marks.
crane — A crane is a large machine that moves heavy things by lifting them in the air.
dean — A dean is an important official at a university or college.
deign — If you say that someone deigned to do something, you are expressing your disapproval of the fact that they did it unwillingly, because they thought they were too important to do it.
drain — to withdraw or draw off (a liquid) gradually; remove slowly or by degrees, as by filtration: to drain oil from a crankcase.
frayn — Michael. born 1933, British playwright, novelist, and translator; his plays include The Two of Us (1970), Noises Off (1982), Copenhagen (1998), and Democracy (2004); novels include A Landing on the Sun (1991) and Spies (2002)
lean — to incline or bend from a vertical position: She leaned out the window.
lene — (phonetics) The smooth breathing (spiritus lenis).
Three-syllable rhymes
acid rain — Acid rain is rain polluted by acid that has been released into the atmosphere from factories and other industrial processes. Acid rain is harmful to the environment.
aquitaine — a region of SW France, on the Bay of Biscay: a former Roman province and medieval duchy. It is generally flat in the west, rising to the slopes of the Massif Central in the northeast and the Pyrenees in the south; mainly agricultural
ascertain — If you ascertain the truth about something, you find out what it is, especially by making a deliberate effort to do so.
ball and chain — (formerly) a heavy iron ball attached to a chain and fastened to a prisoner
bearing rein — a rein from the bit to the saddle, designed to keep the horse's head in the desired position
bowling green — A bowling green is an area of very smooth, short grass on which the game of bowls or lawn bowling is played.
butter bean — Butter beans are the yellowish flat round seeds of a kind of bean plant. They are eaten as a vegetable, and in Britain they are usually sold dried rather than fresh.
candy cane — A candy cane is a stick of red and white candy with a curve at one end.
compass plane — a plane for smoothing curved surfaces.
coup de main — an attack that achieves complete surprise
daisy chain — A daisy chain is a string of daisies that have been joined together by their stems to make a necklace.
entertain — Provide (someone) with amusement or enjoyment.
fava bean — a plant, Vicia faba, native to the Old World, bearing large pods containing edible seeds.
figurine — a small ornamental figure of pottery, metal, plastic, etc.; statuette.
gelatine — a nearly transparent, faintly yellow, odorless, and almost tasteless glutinous substance obtained by boiling in water the ligaments, bones, skin, etc., of animals, and forming the basis of jellies, glues, and the like.
geraldine — a female given name: derived from Gerald.
golden mean — the perfect moderate course or position that avoids extremes; the happy medium.
gravy train — a position in which a person or group receives excessive and unjustified money or advantages with little or no effort: The top executives were on the gravy train with their huge bonuses.
halloween — the evening of October 31; the eve of All Saints' Day; Allhallows Eve: observed especially by children in costumes who solicit treats, often by threatening minor pranks.
hooker's green — a medium green to strong yellowish green.
inclined plane — one of the simple machines, a plane surface inclined to the horizon, or forming with a horizontal plane any angle but a right angle. Compare machine (def 4b).
inhumane — not humane; lacking humanity, kindness, compassion, etc.
intervene — to come between disputing people, groups, etc.; intercede; mediate.
in the main — chief in size, extent, or importance; principal; leading: the company's main office; the main features of a plan.
jumping bean — the seed of any of certain Mexican plants of the genera Sebastiania and Sapium, of the spurge family: the movements of a moth larva inside the seed cause it to move about or jump.
kendal green — a coarse woolen cloth, green in color.
kidney bean — a common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, cultivated in many varieties for its edible seeds and pods.
lima bean — a bean, Phaseolus limensis, having a broad, flat, edible seed.
pretrain — Railroads. a self-propelled, connected group of rolling stock.
paris green — Chemistry. an emerald-green, poisonous, water-insoluble powder produced from arsenic trioxide and copper acetate: used chiefly as a pigment, insecticide, and wood preservative.
picture plane — the plane of a painting, drawing, or the like, that is in the extreme foreground of a picture, is coextensive with but not the same as the material surface of the work, is the point of visual contact between the viewer and the picture, and is conceived as a major structural element in the production of abstract or illusionistic forms.
pinto bean — a variety of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, having mottled or spotted seeds: grown chiefly in the southern U.S.
portal vein — the large vein conveying blood to the liver from the veins of the stomach, intestine, spleen, and pancreas.
power train — a train of gears and shafting transmitting power from an engine, motor, etc., to a mechanism being driven.
slot machine — a gambling machine operated by inserting coins into a slot and pulling a handle that activates a set of spinning symbols on wheels, the final alignment of which determines the payoff that is released into a receptacle at the bottom.
submarine — a vessel that can be submerged and navigated under water, usually built for warfare and armed with torpedoes or guided missiles.
sugar cane — a tall grass, Saccharum officinarum, of tropical and warm regions, having a stout, jointed stalk, and constituting the chief source of sugar.
tambourine — a small drum consisting of a circular frame with a skin stretched over it and several pairs of metal jingles attached to the frame, played by striking with the knuckles, shaking, and the like.
time machine — a theoretical apparatus that would convey one to the past or future.
tonka bean — the fragrant, black almond-shaped seed of a tall tree belonging to the genus Dipteryx (or Coumarouna), of the legume family, especially D. odorata, of tropical South America, used in perfumes, as a source of coumarin, and as a substitute for vanilla.
trampoline — a sheet, usually of canvas, attached by resilient cords or springs to a horizontal frame several feet above the floor, used by acrobats and gymnasts as a springboard in tumbling.
unforeseen — to have prescience of; to know in advance; foreknow.
velvet bean — a vine, Mucuna deeringiana, of the legume family, having long clusters of purplish flowers and densely hairy pods, grown in warm regions for forage or as an ornamental.
wagon train — a train of wagons and horses, as one carrying military supplies or transporting settlers in the westward migration.
water main — a main pipe or conduit in a system for conveying water.
weather vane — a device, as a rod to which a freely rotating pointer is attached, for indicating the direction of the wind.
whooping crane — a white North American crane, Grus americana, having a loud, whooping call: an endangered species.
wolverine — Also called carcajou. a stocky, carnivorous North American mammal, Gulo luscus, of the weasel family, having blackish, shaggy hair with white markings.
Two-syllable rhymes
abstain — If you abstain from something, usually something you want to do, you deliberately do not do it.
again — You use again to indicate that something happens a second time, or after it has already happened before.
arraign — If someone is arraigned on a particular charge, they are brought before a court of law to answer that charge.
attain — If you attain something, you gain it or achieve it, often after a lot of effort.
aven — A vertical shaft leading upward from a cave passage, sometimes connecting with passages above.
bahrain — an independent sheikhdom on the Persian Gulf, consisting of several islands: under British protection until the declaration of independence in 1971. It has large oil reserves. Language: Arabic. Religion: Muslim. Currency: dinar. Capital: Manama. Pop: 1 281 332 (2013 est). Area: 678 sq km (262 sq miles)
benzene — Benzene is a clear, colourless liquid which is used to make plastics.
between — If something is between two things or is in between them, it has one of the things on one side of it and the other thing on the other side.
black bean — an Australian leguminous tree, Castanospermum australe, having thin smooth bark and yellow or reddish flowers: used in furniture manufacture
block plane — a carpenter's small plane used to cut across the end grain of wood
boat train — A boat train is a train that takes you to or from a port.
brain drain — When people talk about a brain drain, they are referring to the movement of a large number of scientists or academics away from their own country to other countries where the conditions and salaries are better.
branched chain — an open chain of atoms with one or more side chains attached to it
brattain — Walter Houser. 1902–87, US physicist, who shared the Nobel prize for physics (1956) with W. B. Shockley and John Bardeen for their invention of the transistor
broad bean — Broad beans are flat round beans that are light green in colour and are eaten as a vegetable.
butane — Butane is a gas that is obtained from petroleum and is used as a fuel.
caffeine — Caffeine is a chemical substance found in coffee, tea, and cocoa, which affects your brain and body and makes you more active.
campaign — A campaign is a planned set of activities that people carry out over a period of time in order to achieve something such as social or political change.
canteen — A canteen is a place in a factory, shop, or college where meals are served to the people who work or study there.
careen — To careen somewhere means to rush forward in an uncontrollable way.
casein — a phosphoprotein, precipitated from milk by the action of rennin, forming the basis of cheese: used in the manufacture of plastics and adhesives
cathleen — a female given name, Irish form of Catherine.
celine — Louis-Ferdinand (lwifɛrdinɑ̃), real name Louis-Ferdinand Destouches. 1894–1961, French novelist and physician; became famous with his controversial first novel Journey to the End of the Night (1932)
champagne — Champagne is an expensive French white wine with bubbles in. It is often drunk to celebrate something.
champaign — an expanse of open level or gently undulating country
champlain — Samuel de (samyɛl də). ?1567–1635, French explorer; founder of Quebec (1608) and governor of New France (1633–35)
closed chain — any structural arrangement, used in the models and formulas of molecules, consisting of a chain of atoms that forms a closed geometric figure; ring
cocaine — Cocaine is a powerful drug which some people take for pleasure, but which they can become addicted to.
complain — to make an accusation; bring a formal charge
constrain — To constrain someone or something means to limit their development or force them to behave in a particular way.
contain — If something such as a box, bag, room, or place contains things, those things are inside it.
convene — If someone convenes a meeting or conference, they arrange for it to take place. You can also say that people convene or that a meeting convenes.
costain — Thomas Bertram, 1885–1965, U.S. novelist, historian, and editor, born in Canada.
crimean — of or relating to the Crimea or its inhabitants
cuisine — The cuisine of a country or district is the style of cooking that is characteristic of that place.
deane — Sir William Patrick. born 1931, Australian lawyer. He became a High Court judge in 1982 and governor-general of Australia (1996–2001)
dumb cane — a West Indian foliage plant, Dieffenbachia seguine, of the arum family, having yellow-blotched leaves that cause temporary speechlessness when chewed.
duquesne — Abraham [a-bra-am] /a braˈam/ (Show IPA), 1610–88, French naval commander.
eighteen — Equivalent to the product of two and nine; one more than seventeen, or eight more than ten; 18.
eugene — A city in west central Oregon, on the Willamette River, home to the University of Oregon; population 150,104 (est. 2008).
explain — Make (an idea, situation, or problem) clear to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts or ideas.
fast lane — Also called express lane. the lane of a multilane roadway that is used by fast-moving vehicles, as when passing slower traffic.
french bean — British. the pod of a green bean or wax bean, eaten as a vegetable.
gas main — a large pipe for conducting and distributing gas to lesser pipes or ducts, especially such a pipe carrying and distributing household gas beneath the streets of a town or city.
humane — characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, especially for the suffering or distressed: humane treatment of prisoners.
hussain — Nasser (ˈnæsə). born 1968, British cricketer born in India; played in 96 test matches for England (1990–2004), 56 as captain
may queen — a girl or young woman crowned with flowers and honored as queen in the festivities of May Day.
moline — (of a cross) having arms of equal length, split and curved back at the ends, used especially as the cadency mark of an eighth son: a cross moline.
moraine — a ridge, mound, or irregular mass of unstratified glacial drift, chiefly boulders, gravel, sand, and clay.
moreen — a heavy fabric of wool, or wool and cotton, with a ribbed face and a moiré finish, used for curtains, petticoats, etc.
moss green — a moderate to dark yellow-green color.
moth bean — a low, trailing Indian plant, Vigna aconitifolia, of the legume family, having yellow flowers grown for forage and edible, mottled grayish-yellow seeds.
pertain — to have reference or relation; relate: documents pertaining to the lawsuit.
petain — Henri Philippe Omer [ahn-ree fee-leep aw-mer] /ɑ̃ˈri fiˈlip ɔˈmɛr/ (Show IPA), 1856–1951, marshal of France: premier of the Vichy government 1940–44.
preteen — Also called preteenager [pree-teen-ey-jer] /priˈtinˌeɪ dʒər/ (Show IPA), preteener. a boy or girl under the age of 13, especially one between the ages of 9 and 12.
profane — characterized by irreverence or contempt for God or sacred principles or things; irreligious.
rabin — Yitzhak [yits-khahk] /yɪtsˈxɑk/ (Show IPA), 1922–95, Israeli military and political leader: prime minister 1974–77 and 1992–95: Nobel Peace Prize 1994.
racine — Jean Baptiste [zhahn ba-teest] /ʒɑ̃ baˈtist/ (Show IPA), 1639–99, French dramatist.
ravine — a narrow steep-sided valley commonly eroded by running water.
retrain — to train again, especially for a different vocation or different tasks.
romaine — Also called romaine lettuce, cos, cos lettuce. a variety of lettuce, Lactuca sativa longifolia, having a cylindrical head of long, relatively loose leaves.
rood screen — a screen, often of elaborate design and properly surmounted by a rood, separating the nave from the choir or chancel of a church.
sabine — of or belonging to an ancient people of central Italy who lived chiefly in the Apennines northeast of Rome and were subjugated by the Romans about 290 b.c.
straight chain — an open chain of atoms, usually carbon, with no side chains attached to it.
string bean — any of various kinds of bean, as the green bean, the unripe pods of which are used as food, usually after stripping off the fibrous thread along the side.
sunscreen — a substance formulated to prevent sunburn, skin cancers, and other conditions caused by excessive exposure to the sun, usually by absorbing and reflecting ultraviolet radiation. Compare SPF.
sustain — to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
switch cane — a stick or short staff used to assist one in walking; walking stick.
sword bean — a twining vine, Canavalia gladiata, of the legume family, found in the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere, having large, showy, pealike flowers and reddish-brown seeds.
sword cane — a cane or walking stick having a hollow shaft that serves as a sheath for a sword or dagger.
terrain — a tract of land, especially as considered with reference to its natural features, military advantages, etc.
unseen — not seen; unperceived; unobserved; invisible.
urbane — having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities: an urbane manner.
vaccine — any preparation used as a preventive inoculation to confer immunity against a specific disease, usually employing an innocuous form of the disease agent, as killed or weakened bacteria or viruses, to stimulate antibody production.
watch chain — a chain, frequently of gold or silver, attached to a pocket watch, serving as an ornament and, when passed through a buttonhole in the vest, as a guard against loss or theft of the watch.
wave train — a series of successive waves spaced at regular intervals.
wax bean — a variety of string bean bearing yellowish, waxy pods.
wien — Wilhelm [vil-helm] /ˈvɪl hɛlm/ (Show IPA), 1864–1928, German physicist: Nobel prize 1911.
winged bean — a tropical Asian vine, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, of the legume family, of which the pods, seeds, leaves, and flowers are edible and nutritious.
Four-or-more syllable rhymes
adding machine — a mechanical device, operated manually or electrically, for adding and often subtracting, multiplying, and dividing
aquamarine — Aquamarines are clear, greenish-blue stones, sometimes used to make jewellery.
bathing machine — a small hut, on wheels so that it could be pulled to the sea, used in the 18th and 19th centuries for bathers to change their clothes
capital gain — the amount by which the selling price of a financial asset exceeds its cost
cross of lorraine — a cross with two horizontal bars above and below the midpoint of the vertical bar, the lower longer than the upper
dovetail plane — a plane for cutting tongues and grooves with parallel or inclined sides.
geometric mean — the mean of n positive numbers obtained by taking the n th root of the product of the numbers: The geometric mean of 6 and 24 is 12.
hallowe'en — the evening of October 31; the eve of All Saints' Day; Allhallows Eve: observed especially by children in costumes who solicit treats, often by threatening minor pranks.
harmonic mean — the mean obtained by taking the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of the reciprocals of a set of nonzero numbers.
hospital train — a military train equipped to transport wounded troops to a hospital.
hyacinth bean — an Old World tropical vine, Dolichos lablab, of the legume family, having purple or white flowers and black or white seeds in a papery, beaked pod.
jugular vein — vein that carries blood from head to heart
milling machine — a machine tool for rotating a cutter (milling cutter) to produce plane or formed surfaces on a workpiece, usually by moving the work past the cutter.
mujahideen — Guerrilla fighters in Islamic countries, especially those who are fighting against non-Muslim forces.
pinball machine — the tablelike, usually coin-operated machine on which pinball is played.
public domain — the status of a literary work or an invention whose copyright or patent has expired or that never had such protection.
sabin vaccine — an orally administered vaccine of live viruses for immunization against poliomyelitis.
sewing machine — any of various foot-operated or electric machines for sewing or making stitches, ranging from machines with a shuttle for a spool of thread and a needle for sewing garments to industrial machines for sewing leather, book pages together, etc.
vanilla bean — any tropical, climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla, especially V. planifolia, bearing podlike fruit yielding an extract used in flavoring food, in perfumery, etc.
vending machine — a coin-operated machine for selling small articles, beverages, etc.
voting machine — a mechanical apparatus used in a polling place to register and count the votes.
washing machine — an apparatus, especially a household appliance, for washing clothing, linens, etc.
Four-or-more syllable rhymes
addressing machine — a printer that prints addresses directly on to letters, labels, and envelopes
arithmetic mean — an average value of a set of integers, terms, or quantities, expressed as their sum divided by their number
asparagus bean — a trailing, long-stemmed Asian vine, Vigna unguiculata sesquipedalis, of the legume family, having yellow or violet flowers and very long pods.
facsimile machine — a machine which transmits and receives documents in facsimile transmission
infernal machine — a concealed or disguised explosive device intended to destroy life or property.
