Mainland's usually the continental part of a region, as opposed to the islands nearby. Sometimes the residents are called "the Mainlanders". As a result of the usually larger area of mainland, there're significantly more mainlanders than islanders, and mainlander culture and politics sometimes threaten to dominate those of the islands. Prominent uses of the term include: Mainland Australia, as opposed to Tasmania. British Mainland (for example the island of Great Britain), as opposed to the C… (More on Mainland)