mostly
UK/ˈməʊstli//ˈmoʊstli/
mostly adverb: mainly or chiefly; for the most part; usually, generally, on the whole.
Adverb
mostly (not comparable)
- 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 it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3
- 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 Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817...
- Synonym of probably, likely.
mostly meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
mostly in Hindi
- for the most part
- ज़्यादातर zyādātar, अधिकतर adhiktar
mostly in Tamil
- for the most part
- பெரும்பாலும் perumpālum
mostly in Urdu
- for the most part
- زیاداتر zyādātar
mostly in Bengali
- mostly, frequently, usually, often
- প্রায় praẏ
More languagesFewer languages
- mostly in Malayalam
- പ്രധാനമായും, സാധാരണയായി, മിക്കവാറും, അധികവും
- mostly in Odia
- ପ୍ରାୟ prāya
Examples of mostly in a sentence
- The club that is now mostly used for golf was once a common weapon.
- He mostly works in logging but sometimes works in carpentry too.
- The air on Mars is very thin and consists mostly of carbon dioxide.
Synonyms of mostly
- probably
- likely
- by and large
- in the main
- more often than not
- largely
- predominantly
- principally
- all in all
- all things considered
14 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of mostly
| alternative form | mostlie |
|---|---|
| alternative form | moastly |
Origin of mostly
From most + -ly. The sense “probably” is a calque from Indian languages such as Tamil அனேகமாக (aṉēkamāka).
Words formed from mostly
Questions about mostly
- What does mostly mean?
- Mostly means mainly or chiefly; for the most part; usually, generally, on the whole.
- What is mostly in Hindi?
- Mostly in Hindi is ज़्यादातर (zyādātar), अधिकतर (adhiktar). See Mostly meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is mostly?
- Mostly is an adverb.
- How do you pronounce mostly?
- Mostly is pronounced /ˈməʊstli/ (UK).
Words near mostly in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mostly (page history and authors); প্রায় (Bengali) (page history and authors); mostly (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ପ୍ରାୟ (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-mostly.ogg.
Cite this entry: “mostly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mostly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.