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

2

: in the first place : originally

Synonyms of primarily

• 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

There are other priorities, like replacing sales associates and merchants who defected to the competition, primarily Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. —David Moin, Footwear News, 25 Feb. 2026

Most modern pennies are made primarily of zinc with a thin copper coating. —Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 25 Feb. 2026

The report, released Wednesday, focuses primarily on Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, but some data points include San Fransciso and southern Alameda County. —Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026

Before that, Becca was a staff writer at The Week, primarily contributing to Speed Reads. —Becca Stanek, TheWeek, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

primary entry 1 + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for primarily

• contrarily
• summarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily
• warily
• wearily
• arbitrarily
• customarily
• militarily
• momentarily

Kids Definition

primarily

adverb

pri·​mar·​i·​ly prī-ˈmer-ə-lē 

1

: for the most part : chiefly

2

: in the first place : originally