largely
Americanadverb
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to a great extent; in great part; generally; chiefly.
The plan depends largely on his willingness to cooperate. That is largely incorrect.
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in great quantity; much.
adverb
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principally; to a great extent
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on a large scale or in a large manner
Etymology
Origin of largely
Explanation
Use the adverb largely to mean "mostly." You might say that you're largely pleased with the way your favorite baseball team played this season if they won more games than they lost. If a group art project was largely completed at your house, that means you primarily worked on it there, and when a once-popular novelist is largely forgotten, she's generally fallen out of favor with today's readers. Largely is a useful alternative to "mostly," "mainly," or "chiefly," and it comes from the adjective large, in Old French "broad, wide, or generous," from a Latin root, largus, "abundant, plentiful, bountiful, or liberal."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, her England career has been a mixed bag, largely due to disruptive injuries, as well as her high-profile sending off during England's win over Nigeria in the last 16 of the Women's World Cup.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Professional traders largely don’t expect the oil market to normalize by June, when the front-month Brent futures expire, Bouchouev said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
But if faced with the same tests today, the guardrails and people that held the line would largely be missing, an examination by ProPublica found.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026
Those satellites could provide a solution to the increasing demand, driven largely by AI, for cheap power.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
William and Mary actually gained the throne as a result of a full-scale invasion of Britain, seizing London by force, even if it was largely bloodless and welcomed by many.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
