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

I’ve always been fascinated with apple bobbing, mainly because I wasn’t allowed to partake in it growing up.

Read more on Salon

The US deployment in the Caribbean has mainly been targeting vessels leaving Venezuela, according to US officials.

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The Swedish telecom company delivered growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and the cost of leased assets, or Ebitdaal, in the third quarter, mainly driven by its cost efficiency strategy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And there’s another concern: If these changes are mainly the result of opportunistic business leaders eager to curry favor with a president unusually active in wanting to direct media coverage, it won’t work.

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These mainly concerned the use of wiretaps of conversations involving "lawyers, journalists, bishops and even members of parliament".

Read more on Barron's