mostly

adverb

most·​ly ˈmōst-lē How to pronounce mostly (audio)
: for the greatest part : mainly

Examples of mostly in a Sentence

the weather this month has been mostly mild
Recent Examples on the Web The crowd, which was made up mostly of press and stunt performers, cheered. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024 At least 27 people, mostly children, have died of malnutrition or dehydration in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Yasmeen Abutaleb, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 The bond market was also relatively quiet, with Treasury yields ticking higher, while stock markets abroad were mixed after making mostly modest moves. Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 According to the World Health Organization, 136,000 people — mostly children — died from measles in 2022. Katia Hetter, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 The gardens feature mostly native and drought-tolerant plantings, ideal for the often arid Southern California climate, and naturally the entire property is walled and gated for privacy and security. James McClain, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024 The clientele was mostly hipsters, and there weren’t many of them. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Inflation has certainly taken a bite out of the business worth £112 million ($143 million) last year, according to JLP, linked mostly to partner pay and other operational costs. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 14 Mar. 2024 The funding is now independent in these cities, mostly from the state and one-time grants. Elinor Simek, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mostly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1563, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mostly was in 1563

Dictionary Entries Near mostly

Cite this Entry

“Mostly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mostly. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mostly

adverb
most·​ly ˈmōst-lē How to pronounce mostly (audio)
: for the greatest part : mainly

More from Merriam-Webster on mostly

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