mainly

adverb

main·​ly ˈmān-lē How to pronounce mainly (audio)
Synonyms of mainlynext
1
obsolete : in a forceful manner
2
: for the most part : chiefly

Synonyms of mainly

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of mainly in a Sentence

you mainly need to focus on improving your golf swing
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Florida Lottery big money draw game luck fell mainly on South Florida Wednesday and Thursday , with three of the four jackpot winners playing in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Miramar. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026 Seniors Jaylen Smith and Sebastian Hartmann lead an entirely new roster, with nine freshman (mainly local products), five transfers and international flair all over. — Pj Green october 23, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, long-running independent arthouse cinemas, known in Japan as mini-theaters, have been closing one after another, and the culture now survives mainly in Tokyo and other big cities. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026 It's composed mainly of a flexible biocompatible polymer, and is adhered to the face beside the eye via a medical adhesive. — Ben Coxworth october 23, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mainly

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mainly was in the 13th century

Rhymes for mainly

See All Rhymes for mainly

Browse Nearby Words

mainliner
mainly
main/major road
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mainly. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All