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
S. P. B. Mais2
: in the first place : 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 black expanse of thin, dense and relatively young basalt from those centers stands in stark contrast to thicker, more buoyant continental crust, which is primarily granite but contains the full gamut of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks and can be billions of years old.
—Evan Howell, Scientific American, 4 Feb. 2026
Fontecchio, who was acquired by the Heat this past summer and has been used primarily in a bench role this season, made his third start of the season on Tuesday.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 4 Feb. 2026
The startup’s current product lineup includes Baobao, Apollo, and the high-performance Black Panther II, which is primarily designed for scientific research applications.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 4 Feb. 2026
The wide-ranging job losses primarily affected the sports, books and podcast units, according to a source familiar with the situation.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for primarily
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Evan Howell, Scientific American, 4 Feb. 2026
Fontecchio, who was acquired by the Heat this past summer and has been used primarily in a bench role this season, made his third start of the season on Tuesday.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 4 Feb. 2026
The startup’s current product lineup includes Baobao, Apollo, and the high-performance Black Panther II, which is primarily designed for scientific research applications.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 4 Feb. 2026
The wide-ranging job losses primarily affected the sports, books and podcast units, according to a source familiar with the situation.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for primarily
Cite this Entry
“Primarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primarily. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
primarily
adverb
pri·mar·i·ly
prī-ˈmer-ə-lē
1
: for the most part : chiefly
2
: in the first place : originally
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