Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

mostly

American  
[mohst-lee] / ˈmoʊst li /

adverb

  1. for the most most much part; in the main.

    The work is mostly done.

  2. chiefly; principally.

  3. generally; customarily.

mostly British  
/ ˈməʊstlɪ /

adverb

  1. almost entirely; chiefly

  2. on many or most occasions; usually

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mostly

First recorded in 1585–95; most + -ly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Postal Service, which last year reduced the number of trips to pick up mail at post offices in mostly rural areas.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

As its organizers explained to the Guardian, this is mostly by design.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

Publicly traded European airport stocks are mostly on the continent.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Global oil and gas supplies have been disrupted as shipments through the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway have mostly been halted since the war began on 28 February.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Even Dutch stations carried mostly war news, and that we could hear just as well on the small portable radio we kept now in the dining room, a gift from Pickwick the Christmas before.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.