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primarily

American  
[prahy-mair-uh-lee, -mer-, prahy-mer-uh-lee, -mer-uh-] / praɪˈmɛər ə li, -ˈmɛr-, ˈpraɪ mɛr ə li, -mər ə- /

adverb

  1. essentially; mostly; chiefly; principally.

    They live primarily from farming.

  2. in the first instance; at first; originally.

    Primarily a doctor, he later became a lawyer.
primarily British  
/ ˈpraɪmərəlɪ /

adverb

  1. principally; chiefly; mainly

  2. at first; originally

"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 primarily

First recorded in 1610–20; primary + -ly

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.