Definition of chiefly
1
:most importantly :principally, especially
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Examples of chiefly in a Sentence
our video collection consists chiefly of comedies, but we have a few horror movies
Recent Examples of chiefly from the Web
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Resolution 2371 targets a third of North Korea's $3 billion worth of foreign earnings — chiefly iron, lead, coal and seafood exports — plus revenues through its banks and foreign ventures.
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The 1950s law the social-media meme cites chiefly addressed pension rights for the widows of war veterans.
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He wasn’t traded by the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline and likely won’t be traded before the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline, barring an unforeseen meeting of the minds between the Tigers and, chiefly, the Houston Astros.
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The report’s dismissal of the role of religion garnered the most public attention, chiefly due to a woefully uncritical story in The Independent.
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The artifacts, which Hobby Lobby has since returned, were earmarked for the Museum of the Bible, which is being funded chiefly by the Green family and slated to open in Washington, D.C., in November.
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Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia, has stayed out of NATO chiefly in deference to the government in Moscow (though the Finnish military is now fully compliant with equipment used by the alliance.)
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Clinton, who led in almost every poll before Election Day, chiefly blames Russian hackers and fake-news purveyors for pushing Trump over the finish line ahead of her.
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Of its almost $1.3 billion in deposits, around half reside in the consumer bank, chiefly in checking accounts that cost just .04%.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chiefly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of chiefly
14th century
chiefly Synonyms
Synonyms
altogether, basically, by and large, generally, largely, mainly, mostly, overall, predominantly, primarily, principally, substantially, in general, on the wholeRelated Words
about, more or less, most, much, near, nearly, next to, nigh, practically, some, virtually, well-nigh; approximately, broadly, plus or minus, roughly; commonly, frequently, generally, normally, ordinarily, typically, usually; incompletely, partially, partly, rather, somewhatNear Antonyms
completely, entirely, fully, perfectly, thoroughly, totally, wholly; barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely; absolutely, categorically, unqualifiedlyFirst Known Use of chiefly
1870
CHIEFLY Defined for English Language Learners
CHIEFLY Defined for Kids
chiefly
play
adverb
chief·ly
\
ˈchē-flē
\
Definition of chiefly for Students
1
:above all :most importantly
- We're chiefly concerned with safety.
2
:for the most part
- Owls are active chiefly at night.
Learn More about chiefly
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See words that rhyme with chiefly Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for chiefly Nglish: Translation of chiefly for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of chiefly for Arabic speakers
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