primarily

adverb pri·mar·i·ly \ prī-ˈmer-ə-lē also prə- , chiefly British ˈprī-mər-ə-lē \

Definition of primarily

1 :for the most part :chiefly

has now become primarily a residential town
—S. P. B. Mais

2 :in the first place :originally

See primarily defined for English-language learners

See primarily defined for kids

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 of primarily from the Web

This represents a three-year low, and it’s primarily attributed to the departure of EU citizens from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

— yasmeen serhan, The Atlantic, "Will Brexit Lead to a 'Brexodus'?," 30 Aug. 2017
Harold Joiner was one of a few recruits who took in Alabama's practice and, for the first time, the Mountain Brook four-star recruit feels that Alabama wants him primarily as a running back.

— drew champlin, AL.com, "Mountain Brook 4-star RB Harold Joiner reflects on Alabama visit, updates recruiting," 30 Aug. 2017
FOX ▪ What’s on: Primarily road games of NFC teams on Sundays, plus Vikings-Lions on Thanksgiving.

— barry jackson, miamiherald, "Networks make major NFL talent changes with Romo the biggest addition," 30 Aug. 2017
The streetcar is also primarily a weekend form of transportation.

— cameron knight, Cincinnati.com, "Streetcar's second year: Ridership projections cut in half," 30 Aug. 2017
The engineer and other staff in the vehicle — this will be one expensive pizza delivery — will primarily focus (that’s a different Ford) on the last part of the drive when the pizza arrives at the customer.

— howard gensler, Philly.com, "Domino's experimenting with driver-less pizza delivery," 29 Aug. 2017
The Joliet Junior College professor primarily teaches English but has become well known for his fun, humorous approach to teaching Mandarin.

— donna vickroy, Daily Southtown, "Joliet Junior College teacher aims to make learning Mandarin easy," 28 Aug. 2017
Today, Woodside is team Trump, joining a political party primarily made up of White supremacists.

— sydney scott, Essence.com, "Whose Mans Is This? The Real Story Behind That One Black Trump Supporter," 24 Aug. 2017
Some venoms, such as those of cobras and coral snakes, primarily attack the nervous system, leading to breathing difficulties and paralysis.

— katie nodjimbadem, Smithsonian, "How Many Ways Can Snake Venom Kill You and More Questions From Our Readers," 24 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'primarily.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of primarily

1601

primarily Synonyms

Synonyms

firstly, initially, originally

Related Words

incipiently; primitively

Near Antonyms

finally, lastly, ultimately

PRIMARILY Defined for English Language Learners

primarily

adverb

Definition of primarily for English Language Learners

—used to indicate the main purpose of something, reason for something, etc.

PRIMARILY Defined for Kids

primarily

adverb pri·mar·i·ly \ prī-ˈmer-ə-lē \

Definition of primarily for Students

:more than anything else :mainly

… he always considered himself a sculptor, and primarily a sculptor of marble.
—E. L. Konigsburg, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

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