primarily
adverb
pri·mar·i·ly
prī-ˈmer-ə-lē 
also prə-,
chiefly British ˈprī-mə-rə-lē
1
: for the most part : chiefly
has now become primarily a residential town—
S. P. B. Mais
S. P. B. Mais2
: in the first place : originally
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 on the Web
The company's Pentagon contracts are primarily to design AI systems that crunch large amounts of data to come up with potential strike targets.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 23 July 2025
Because that ring is still primarily a symbol of love.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
Markets Where Housing Inventory Has Increased the Most Looking at housing inventory change in percentage terms over the course of one year, the majority of cities that have experienced the largest one-year increase are primarily in the U.S. West and South regions.
—Andrew Depietro, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Nevada has a huge percentage of properties at risk from disasters — primarily wildfires.
—Scott Cohn, CNBC, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for primarily
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Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 23 July 2025
Because that ring is still primarily a symbol of love.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
Markets Where Housing Inventory Has Increased the Most Looking at housing inventory change in percentage terms over the course of one year, the majority of cities that have experienced the largest one-year increase are primarily in the U.S. West and South regions.
—Andrew Depietro, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Nevada has a huge percentage of properties at risk from disasters — primarily wildfires.
—Scott Cohn, CNBC, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for primarily
Cite this Entry
“Primarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primarily. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
primarily
adverb
pri·mar·i·ly
prī-ˈmer-ə-lē
1
: for the most part : chiefly
2
: in the first place : originally
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