51Թ

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View synonyms for

by and large

adverb

  1. in general; on the whole

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of by and large1

C17: originally nautical (meaning: to the wind and off it)
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Idioms and Phrases

For the most part, generally speaking, as in By and large the novel was a success. This expression originated in 17th-century seamanship, where it referred to sailing into the wind and then off it, which made it easier to steer. By the early 1700s the term had been broadened to mean “in one direction and another,” whence its present meaning of “in general.” For a synonym, see for the most part.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Mute Meadow has by and large, remained in the dark ever since.

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But by and large those at the club's Enfield training facility have generally found Postecoglou a likeable character, certainly last season when things were going well.

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Hookworms, for example, used to devastate communities in the South, but they were by and large eradicated with the introduction of indoor plumbing and urbanization.

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Existing protections for the use of research animals by and large prevent the creation of vertebrate cyborgs of this kind.

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When people describe how they feel about our political process in this moment — Democrats in particular — the words are, by and large, negative.

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by-and-byby any means