Meanings
- not comparableOf a person or thing being the driving force influencing the outcome of an event; chiefly; certainly for the most part.First known use 17th c.
If you’re looking for the most breathable mask, Lukovics says, “Cotton is preferable, mainly for absorbing moisture/sweat.” She says multiple layers may be more protective but will also impact breathability.
2021 August 17, Elizabeth Wallace and Kai Burkhardt, “12 breathable face masks to protect you while exercising”, in CNN1 more example
She had Lord James' collar in one big fist and she pounded the table with the other and talked a blue streak. Nobody could make out plain what she said, for she was mainly jabbering Swede lingo, but there was English enough, of a kind, to give us some idee.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLCSynonyms: in the main
- not comparableobsoleteForcefully, vigorously.First known use 13th–17th c.
Such breadth of ſhoulders as might mainely beare Olde Atlas burthen, […]
c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act (please specify |act=I or II), scene i1 more example
Mainly they all attonce vpon him laid, / And sore beset on euery side around […]
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLCSynonyms: energetically, powerfully, strongly
- not comparableobsoleteOf the production of a sound: loudly, powerfully.First known use 14th–19th c.
But in the end, mainly crying out, he fell to raling and wringing his master, upbraiding him that he was not a true Philosopher[…].
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 31, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLCSynonyms: earsplittingly, lustily, raucously, thunderously
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbOf a person or thing being the driving force influencing the outcome of an event; chiefly; certainly for the most part.
adverbForcefully, vigorously.
adverbOf the production of a sound: loudly, powerfully.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbfor the most part
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishmaynly
- Englishmainly
From Middle English maynly; equivalent to main + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic غَالِبًا
- غَالِبًا (ḡāliban)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Bulgarian главно
- главно (glavno)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Catalan principalment
- principalmentchiefly; certainly for the most part
Chinese Mandarin 主要地
- 主要地 (zhǔyào de)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Dutch voornamelijk
- voornamelijkchiefly; certainly for the most part
Esperanto ĉefe, precipe
- ĉefechiefly; certainly for the most part
- precipechiefly; certainly for the most part
Estonian peamiselt, põhiliselt
- peamiseltchiefly; certainly for the most part
- põhiliseltchiefly; certainly for the most part
- peaasjalikultchiefly; certainly for the most part
Finnish pääosin, suurimmaksi osaksi
- pääosinchiefly; certainly for the most part
- suurimmaksi osaksichiefly; certainly for the most part
- pääasiassachiefly; certainly for the most part
- etupäässächiefly; certainly for the most part
- pääasiallisestichiefly; certainly for the most part
- lähinnächiefly; certainly for the most part
- enimmäkseenchiefly; certainly for the most part
- pitkältichiefly; certainly for the most part
French surtout, principalement
- surtoutchiefly; certainly for the most part
- principalementchiefly; certainly for the most part
German hauptsächlich
- hauptsächlichchiefly; certainly for the most part
Greek κυρίως
- κυρίως (kyríos)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Hebrew בעיקר \ בְּעִקָּר
- בעיקר \ בְּעִקָּר (b'ikár)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Hindi मुख्यतः
- मुख्यतः (mukhyataḥ)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Hungarian főleg
- főlegchiefly; certainly for the most part
Italian principalmente, sostanzialmente
- principalmentechiefly; certainly for the most part
- sostanzialmentechiefly; certainly for the most part
Japanese おもに, 主に
- おもに (omo ni)chiefly; certainly for the most part
- 主に (omo ni)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Korean 주로
- 주로 (juro)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Norwegian Bokmål hovedsakelig, overveiende
- hovedsakeligchiefly; certainly for the most part
- overveiendechiefly; certainly for the most part
Polish głównie
- główniechiefly; certainly for the most part
Portuguese principalmente
- principalmentechiefly; certainly for the most part
Romanian îndeosebi, mai ales
- îndeosebichiefly; certainly for the most part
- mai aleschiefly; certainly for the most part
- mai cu seamăchiefly; certainly for the most part
Russian гла́вным о́бразом, в основно́м
- гла́вным о́бразом (glávnym óbrazom)chiefly; certainly for the most part
- в основно́м (v osnovnóm)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Spanish máxime, mayormente
- máximechiefly; certainly for the most part
- mayormentechiefly; certainly for the most part
- máximamentechiefly; certainly for the most part
Swedish huvudsakligen
- huvudsakligenchiefly; certainly for the most part
Ukrainian головни́м чи́ном, перева́жно
- головни́м чи́ном (holovným čýnom)chiefly; certainly for the most part
- перева́жно (perevážno)chiefly; certainly for the most part
- го́ловно (hólovno)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Yiddish דער עיקר
- דער עיקר (der iker)chiefly; certainly for the most part
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with mainly
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
mainly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mainly
“mainly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mainly. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mainly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mainly.
Source: mainly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.