What does "normally" mean?

1. (usually) most of the time or in most situations. 2. (in the expected way) in the way that is regular, natural, or expected. 3. (statistics) in a way that follows a specific mathematical pattern called a 'normal distribution'.

How do you use "normally"?

Often placed at the beginning of a sentence or before the main verb. Almost exclusively used with the verb 'distributed'.

normally

adv.

US //ˈnɔɹməɫi// UK //nˈɔːməli// nor·mal·ly

1 usually (adv.)
A2 Elementary

most of the time or in most situations.

under ordinary conditions or circumstances; used as a frequency adverb to indicate what is typical.

Example

Normally, I walk to work, but today I took the bus because it was raining.

Example

Normally, the committee meets on the first Tuesday of every month, but the upcoming public holiday has forced a rescheduling of the session.

Usage

Often placed at the beginning of a sentence or before the main verb.
- unusually
- rarely
2 in the expected way (adv.)
B1 Intermediate

in the way that is regular, natural, or expected.

in a manner that conforms to a standard, pattern, or expected custom.

Example

After the power cut, the machines started working normally again.

Example

The patient is breathing normally now, suggesting that the medication has successfully reduced the inflammation in the respiratory tract.
- regularly
- ordinarily
- abnormally
- strangely

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3 statistics (adv.)
C1 Advanced Technical Math

in a way that follows a specific mathematical pattern called a 'normal distribution'.

distributed according to a Gaussian or normal distribution curve.

Example

The test scores were normally distributed across the whole student population.

Example

In many natural phenomena, such as height or blood pressure, the data points are found to be normally distributed around the mean.

Usage

Almost exclusively used with the verb 'distributed'.

Origin

From normal + -ly.