Mostly
/ˈməʊstli/
Definitions
For the greater part; in the main; chiefly.
/ˈməʊstli/
For the most part; mainly
The population of this town is mostly comprised of retired people.
💡 Simply: Imagine you have a bag of candy, and most of the candies are red. 'Mostly' means the red ones are the main thing you're seeing! It's like saying the red candies are the biggest group.
👶 For kids: Most of the time or in most situations.
More Examples
She spends her free time mostly reading and gardening.
The traffic on the highway is mostly heavy during rush hour.
How It's Used
"The students are mostly from the local area."
"Sales are mostly generated through online channels."
From 'most' + '-ly'. 'Most' derives from Old English 'mǣst', superlative of 'mīcel' meaning 'much'. The '-ly' suffix denotes an adverbial function.
Used extensively across literature, starting in the 16th century, and continuing into modern literature and common speech.
Memory tip
Think of 'most' of something – it's about the largest portion.