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 version of events found primarily in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Homeric epics that narrate the war and its aftermath, respectively, serves as a template for how many people continue to imagine war, honor, heroism, and a whole set of related issues to this day.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Working primarily in the North Sea, Müller had pioneered the use of extremely fine nets to collect these and other tiny marine organisms.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Her cultural criticism and reported features, which focus primarily on women’s lives, artistic production, history, and fame, have also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, New York, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair, among other publications.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
And after Musk left DOGE, initially nominally headed by former healthcare executive Amy Gleason, operates primarily through staffers in cost-cutting positions spread across government departments and agencies.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primarily
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Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Working primarily in the North Sea, Müller had pioneered the use of extremely fine nets to collect these and other tiny marine organisms.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Her cultural criticism and reported features, which focus primarily on women’s lives, artistic production, history, and fame, have also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, New York, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair, among other publications.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
And after Musk left DOGE, initially nominally headed by former healthcare executive Amy Gleason, operates primarily through staffers in cost-cutting positions spread across government departments and agencies.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 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 Oct. 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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