Meanings
- focusidiomaticnot comparableMostly; generally; all things considered.
It was, by and large, an unexceptional presentation.
3 more examples
Taking things by and large, as sailors say, I got on fairly well in the matter of provisions even on the long voyage across the Pacific.
1901, Joshua Slocum, Sailing alone around the world, New York: The Century Company“The people doing this by and large don’t have any real concept of how to tell a story, and neither do any kind of A.I.,” Ms. Williams said on Wednesday.
2023 February 23, Michael Levenson, quoting Sheila Williams, “Science Fiction Magazines Battle a Flood of Chatbot-Generated Stories”, in The New York Times, →ISSNAkers claims that ETCS signalling renewals are roughly 50% of the cost of conventional renewals. If nothing else, this is an important reason for NR to be keen to switch. "There's no rocket science or magic in that, there's just physically less to deliver," he says. "There are no trackside signals. Yes, you have balises and marker boards, and you still have train detection, but by and large there is simply less to deliver.
2024 May 29, Philip Haigh, “The digital revolution and the switch to in-cab signalling”, in RAIL, number 1010, page 29Synonyms: for the most part, generally, mostly, on the whole, usually, all in all, all things considered, altogether
- idiomaticnot comparableobsoleteIn one way or another.
Miss Betsey, a charming frigate, that will do honour to our country, if you take her by and large.
1769, Southern Literary Messenger, volume XVII, number 183, page 21 more example
[…] a man who has heard of the biter bit, feels rather perplexed on the whole, take it by-and-large […]
1833, John Neal, The Down-Easters, volume 1, New York: Harper & Brothers - not comparablenauticalSailing alternately into the wind and in the same direction as the wind.
[…] For to make a Ship to drawe or goe but little into the water, and to hold a good winde, and to ſaile well both by and large, were very neceſſarie, and eſpecially in theſe our ſhallowe Seas, […]
[…] To make a ship that draws little water, holds good wind, and sails well both by and large was very necessary, especially in our shallow seas, […]
1578, William Bourne, Inventions or Devises, London
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbMostly; generally; all things considered.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbusually; as a rule
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From sailing: a ship may (or may not) sail well both close by the wind, and large, downwind, with sheets extended.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic عَلَى اَلْعَمُوم
- عَلَى اَلْعَمُوم (ʕalā l-ʕamūm)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
Catalan en general
- en generalmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Chinese Mandarin 總的來說 /总的来说, 大體上 /大体上
- 總的來說 /总的来说 (zǒngdeláishuō)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
- 大體上 /大体上 (dàtǐshang)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
- 大體而言 /大体而言 (dàtǐ éryán)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
- 全盤看來 /全盘看来 (quánpán kànlái)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
- 一般 (yībān)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
- 大致上 (dàzhìshang)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
Czech celkem vzato
- celkem vzatomostly, generally; with few exceptions
Danish i det store og hele, i det store hele
- i det store og helemostly, generally; with few exceptions
- i det store helemostly, generally; with few exceptions
- stort setmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Dutch over het geheel genomen
- over het geheel genomenmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Esperanto grandparte
- grandpartemostly, generally; with few exceptions
Finnish yleisesti ottaen, suurin piirtein
- yleisesti ottaenmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- suurin piirteinmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- kokonaisuutenamostly, generally; with few exceptions
- suurimmaksi osaksimostly, generally; with few exceptions
French en majeure partie, en gros
- en majeure partiemostly, generally; with few exceptions
- en grosmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- pratiquementmostly, generally; with few exceptions
German im Großen und Ganzen
- im Großen und Ganzenmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Hebrew בכלל
- בכלל (bikhlal)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
Hungarian összességében, alapvetően
- összességébenmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- alapvetőenmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- egészében vévemostly, generally; with few exceptions
Italian in generale, in linea di massima
- in generalemostly, generally; with few exceptions
- in linea di massimamostly, generally; with few exceptions
Japanese 全般的にみて
- 全般的にみて (zenpanteki ni mite)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
Korean 대부분
- 대부분 (daebubun)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
Norwegian Bokmål i det store og hele, stort sett
- i det store og helemostly, generally; with few exceptions
- stort settmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Persian کلاً
- کلاً (kollan)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
Polish w większości, ogólnie rzecz biorąc
- w większościmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- ogólnie rzecz biorącmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Portuguese em geral, no geral
- em geralmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- no geralmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Russian в о́бщем и це́лом, в о́бщем
- в о́бщем и це́лом (v óbščem i célom)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
- в о́бщем (v óbščem)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
- по бо́льшей ча́сти (po bólʹšej části)mostly, generally; with few exceptions
Scottish Gaelic san fharsaingeachd
- san fharsaingeachdmostly, generally; with few exceptions
Spanish en gran parte, en buena parte
- en gran partemostly, generally; with few exceptions
- en buena partemostly, generally; with few exceptions
Swedish i allmänhet, mestadels
- i allmänhetmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- mestadelsmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- i stort settmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- på det hela tagetmostly, generally; with few exceptions
- i det stora helamostly, generally; with few exceptions
Cite this entry
by and large. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20and%20large
“by and large.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20and%20large. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “by and large,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20and%20large.
Source: by and large on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.