mainly

adverb

main·​ly ˈmān-lē 

1

obsolete : in a forceful manner

2

: for the most part : chiefly

Synonyms of mainly

• mostly
• primarily
• chiefly
• largely
• predominantly
• principally
• basically
• generally

Examples of mainly in a Sentence

you mainly need to focus on improving your golf swing

Recent Examples on the Web

Before his current position, Ward spent 14 years in the KU academic support program, working mainly with men’s basketball and volleyball as academic counselor. —Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 4 Jan. 2026

With the Sharks still in a rebuild and out of the playoff picture in recent years, general manager Mike Grier has opted not to re-sign several pending UFAs, instead sending them to contending teams, mainly for draft picks and prospects, before the trade deadline. —Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2026

That place was a meeting point in Crans, frequented mainly by minors. —Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 3 Jan. 2026

While large language models are trained mainly on internet data to generate text and images, training AI for the physical world requires additional inputs such as weight, texture, structure, temperature, and how objects interact, including the grip or force needed to handle them. —Elaine Yu, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mainly

• plainly
• sanely
• vainly
• humanely
• insanely
• profanely
• ungainly