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

2

: in the first place : originally

Synonyms of primarily

• 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 the United States, growth has been fueled primarily by the hundreds of billions of dollars of Big Tech investment in AI projects and by consumer spending energized by gains in a stock market dominated by AI. — Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026

Battle-tested Like their patron Iran, the Houthis have deployed asymmetric warfare for the 21st century by capitalizing on their strengths — primarily drones and missiles. — NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026

The newspaper’s explanation at the time was that Mitchell was — and remained — a Canadian citizen, despite residing primarily in California, thus the exclusion. — Chris Willman, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Skydance has said those savings will come primarily from technology, procurement, marketing and real estate, and Ellison has said the bulk won’t come from layoffs. — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

primary entry 1 + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for primarily

• contrarily
• summarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily
• warily
• wearily
• arbitrarily
• customarily
• militarily
• momentarily

Kids Definition

primarily

adverb

pri·​mar·​i·​ly prī-ˈmer-ə-lē 

1

: for the most part : chiefly

2

: in the first place : originally