by and large
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From sailing: a ship may (or may not) sail well both close by the wind, and large, downwind, with sheets extended.
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Adverb
[edit]by and large (not comparable)
- (set phrase, focus) Mostly, generally; with few exceptions.
- Synonyms: for the most part, generally, mostly, on the whole, usually; see also Thesaurus:mostly
- It was, by and large, an unexceptional presentation.
- 2023 February 23, Michael Levenson, quoting Sheila Williams, “Science Fiction Magazines Battle a Flood of Chatbot-Generated Stories”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
- “The people doing this by and large don’t have any real concept of how to tell a story, and neither do any kind of A.I.,” Ms. Williams said on Wednesday.
- 2024 May 29, Philip Haigh, “The digital revolution and the switch to in-cab signalling”, in RAIL, number 1010, page 29:
- Akers claims that ETCS signalling renewals are roughly 50% of the cost of conventional renewals. If nothing else, this is an important reason for NR to be keen to switch. "There's no rocket science or magic in that, there's just physically less to deliver," he says. "There are no trackside signals. Yes, you have balises and marker boards, and you still have train detection, but by and large there is simply less to deliver.
Translations
[edit]mostly, generally; with few exceptions