mainly

[meyn-lee]

adverb

1. chiefly; principally; for the most part; in the main; to the greatest extent.

   Our success was due mainly to your efforts. The audience consisted mainly of students.

2. Obsolete.,  greatly; mightily; abundantly.

mainly

/ ˈmeɪnlɪ /

adverb

1. for the most part; to the greatest extent; principally

2. obsolete,  strongly; very much

Word History and Origins

Origin of mainly¹

First recorded in 1225–75, mainly is from the Middle English word maynliche, maynly. See main ¹, -ly

Example Sentences

There are a few earnings results due out later this week—mainly from retailers—and investors will no doubt be paying attention to September retail sales and consumer confidence readings due Tuesday.

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Gbadegesin said that CIF in the past largely worked with multilateral development banks to add scale, mainly because it was backing pilot trials.

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Banditry mainly grew out of land conflicts between farmers and herders.

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Olefins and derivatives spreads are likely to remain weak through 4Q and into 2026 due to a persistent regional supply glut driven mainly by China’s aggressive petrochemical capacity expansion.

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“I see a positive wave in the direction of the defense industry, mainly because of reputation, because of the sense of purpose of the defense industry in Germany,” Wertheim said.

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