primarily
adverb
chiefly British
ˈprī-mə-rə-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
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Synonyms for primarily
Synonyms
altogether, basically, by and large, chiefly, generally, largely, mainly, mostly, overall, predominantly, principally, substantially
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Examples of primarily in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Terri HIckey, a McDonald's spokeswoman said about 3,000 U.S. restaurants, primarily in the Midwest are impacted. — USA TODAY, "Health officials: Dozens in Midwest sickened after eating McDonald's salads," 12 July 2018 Most of the characters in this movie live primarily in one of two worlds. — Samantha Powell, The Cut, "Sorry to Bother You’s Costume Designer on Dressing Tessa Thompson," 10 July 2018 Cree employs about 4,000 workers in the U.S., primarily in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Arkansas. — Jay Greene, WSJ, "Cree Girds for LED Tariffs It Says Will Sting," 4 July 2018 Hernandez said labor's election opponents, primarily in the deep-pocketed business community, have often tried to spread out the playing field and make unions spend down their reserves each year. — Alexei Koseff, sacbee, "After 'wake-up call' from Supreme Court, California unions face tough political choices," 3 July 2018 Colonial Americans drank roughly three times as much as modern Americans, primarily in the form of beer, cider, and whiskey. — Amanda Cargill, Smithsonian, "What Did the Founding Fathers Eat and Drink as They Started a Revolution?," 3 July 2018 Her children live primarily in London, and Murdoch has been spending considerable time there recently. — Sarah Ellison, Philly.com, "Rupert Murdoch: The media mogul says goodbye to much of the company he built," 2 July 2018 When someone determines an individual’s identity is primarily in their profession, if that person’s views of that profession are low, there are real ramifications. — Eugene Scott, Washington Post, "The Capital Gazette shooting and what’s wrong with the current public discourse about the media," 29 June 2018 The mission of the Dart Foundation is to advance and encourage youth education, primarily in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. — Staff Report, Daily Southtown, "Community news: Lincoln-Way Marching Band set for Mokena July 4 parade," 28 June 2018These 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.
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More Definitions for primarily
primarily
adverb
English Language Learners Definition of primarily
—used to indicate the main purpose of something, reason for something, etc.
See the full definition for primarily in the English Language Learners Dictionary
primarily
adverb
\
Kids Definition of primarily
: 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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