mostly
Mainly or chiefly; for the most part; usually, generally, on the whole.
Adverb
- Mainly or chiefly; for the most part; usually, generally, on the whole.
- They're mostly good people, although they have made a few mistakes.
- Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated...
- To the greatest extent; most.
- She was to be their chosen visitor, she was to be for weeks under the same roof with the person whose society she mostly prized [...]! - 1803 (date written), [Jane Austen], Northanger Abbey; published in Northanger...
Origin
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English English most Middle English -ly English -ly English mostly From most + -ly.
Forms
Synonyms
by and large in the main more often than not largely predominantly principally all in all all things considered altogether broadly as a rule basically chiefly feckly for the most part generally mainly mostly on the whole overall pretty well primarily