adv

chiefly

CHEEF-lee

adv

Mainly or for the most part.

"The delay was caused chiefly by bad weather."

"The class is aimed chiefly at beginners."

How to Use Chiefly

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishMostly, primarily — used to point out the main reason or focus among several.

Common pairings

chiefly because chiefly due to aimed chiefly at

more chiefly comparative, chieflier comparative, most chiefly superlative, chiefliest superlative

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Can you complete this real example?

The delay was caused _____ by bad weather.

Formed from "chief" plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

particularly for the most part largely

usually completely mostly particularly specifically largely

firefly briefly

particularly for the most part largely usually completely mostly specifically