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• n  the chief mast of a sailing vessel with two or more masts

• He warned that "he'll be goddamned if he'll stand for one such word from any Christless bastard on board, afore or abaft the mainmast.
• After President Arias of Panama left the Houston at Balboa his Panama's red- white--blue flag dropped from the mainmast and up again went President Roosevelt's four-starred .
• Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, rescuer-hero of the Titanic disaster, flew his newly-acquired Commodore's burgee from the mainmast as the Cunard flagship Berengaria entered New York .

Quotes

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• Ted Briggs in Telegraph.co.uk
  Briggs recalled: "We had taken them by surprise, and fired about six salvoes before she replied. And when she did, her gunnery was excellent. The third salvo hit us at the base of the mainmast, causing a fire - some of the ammunition was exploding....
• Robert Ballard in National Geographic
  The mainmast of the ship has been bashed down and destroyed. Objects-the ship's bell, the ship's light-have been torn off of that,Ballard said.