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By and large means “in general” or "on the whole" in most contexts, but in sailors’ lingo of yore, whence the phrase arose, by and large described a vessel alternately sailing as directly into the wind as possible (typically within about 45 degrees of the wind)—that is, by—and away from the direction from which the wind is blowing, with the wind hitting the vessel’s widest point—that is, large. (Note that this by also appears in the term full and by: "sailing as directly into the wind as possible and with all sails full.") William Bourne’s 1578 book Inventions or Devises offers insight into the phrase’s original use: “… to make a ship to draw or go but little into the water, and to hold a good wind, and to sail well both by and large, were very necessary …” As has happened with much nautical jargon, the phrase eventually came ashore. By and large, landlubbers welcomed it, first in the sense "in many directions" or "in all ways," and ultimately with its present meaning of "in general."
Examples of by and large in a Sentence
Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2025
Despite some high-profile announcements, that’s by and large not happening.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 21 May 2025
And one paper by researchers at the Federal Reserve shows that the decline in unionization rates is, by and large, responsible for the drop in wages for factory work compared to other jobs.
—Liam McBain, NPR, 9 May 2025
This insight holds especially true in transatlantic studies, a field that, by and large, grew out of twentieth-century reevaluations of Americanness itself.
—Abby Clayton, JSTOR Daily, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for by and large
Cite this Entry
“By and large.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20and%20large. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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