chiefly
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
mostly or mainly; you use this to point out the most important part of a group or reason.
principally or primarily; used to identify the most significant element or cause in a given context.
Simple“The magazine is written chiefly for people who love gardening.”
In context“The decline in the local bird population is chiefly attributed to the loss of natural wetlands due to urban expansion.”
UsageUsually placed before the phrase it modifies or after the verb 'to be'.
Teacher's tipThis is a more formal alternative to 'mainly'. In casual conversation, most speakers prefer 'mostly' or 'mainly'.
From Middle English chefly; equivalent to chief + -ly (adverbial suffix).
From chief + -ly (adjectival suffix). Piecewise doublet of chefly and headly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.