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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
Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
But by and large the levers available to a text model to perpetrate harm are limited.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Humans may not always do our job, but by and large, Waymo’s machines are doing theirs.
—Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Despite pressure to act, Americans are, by and large, opposed to raising the FRA.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 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 17 Oct. 2025.
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