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

• firstly
• initially
• 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

The rule from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management — which oversees more than 380,000 square miles (990,000 square kilometers) of land, primarily in the U.S. West — will allow public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling. —Matthew Brown, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024

While the original Notebook is primarily framed as an epic love story spanning the boundaries of space and time, the musical has been transmogrified into something quieter, smaller, and arguably more devastating. —Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

primary entry 1 + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

primarily

adverb

pri·​mar·​i·​ly prī-ˈmer-ə-lē 

1

: for the most part : chiefly

2

: in the first place : originally