primarily
adverb
pri·mar·i·ly
prī-ˈmer-ə-lē 
also prə-,
chiefly British ˈprī-mə-rə-lē
1
: for the most part : chiefly
has now become primarily a residential town—
S. P. B. Mais
S. P. B. Mais2
: in the first place : originally
Examples of primarily in a Sentence
the university was primarily an agricultural college when it was founded over two centuries ago
ketchup is primarily made from tomatoes
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2024, Devin Hester became the first player who was primarily a return specialist inducted into the Hall of Fame.
—Jim Reineking, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2025
One last point to confirm the DOE Report on uncertainty in climate modeling based primarily on GHG emissions.
—Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Rapid response nurse John McDonald, a member of the California Nurses Association with 39 years of experience, primarily in critical care, said that the payment due in July was about $15,000 for full-time nurses.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Aug. 2025
Much of that can be attributed to post-pandemic inflation, but animal advocates also lay blame on corporations — primarily, the candy company Mars, Inc. — that have bought up a large share of the country’s veterinary hospitals over the past two decades.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primarily
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jim Reineking, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2025
One last point to confirm the DOE Report on uncertainty in climate modeling based primarily on GHG emissions.
—Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Rapid response nurse John McDonald, a member of the California Nurses Association with 39 years of experience, primarily in critical care, said that the payment due in July was about $15,000 for full-time nurses.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Aug. 2025
Much of that can be attributed to post-pandemic inflation, but animal advocates also lay blame on corporations — primarily, the candy company Mars, Inc. — that have bought up a large share of the country’s veterinary hospitals over the past two decades.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primarily
Cite this Entry
“Primarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primarily. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
primarily
adverb
pri·mar·i·ly
prī-ˈmer-ə-lē
1
: for the most part : chiefly
2
: in the first place : originally
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share