by and large

English

Etymology

From sailing: a ship may (or may not) sail well both close by the wind, and large, downwind, with sheets extended.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adverb

by and large (not comparable)

1. (set phrase, focus) mostly, generally; with few exceptions

   It was, by and large, an unexceptional presentation.

Synonyms

• (mostly): for the most part, generally, mostly, on the whole, usually; see also Thesaurus:mostly

Translations

mostly, generally; with few exceptions

• Arabic: عَلَى اَلْعَمُوم (ʕalā l-ʕamūm)
• Catalan: en general
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 總的來說／总的来说 (zh) (zǒngdeláishuō), 总的来说 (zh) (zǒngdeláishuō), 大體上／大体上 (zh) (dàtǐshang), 大体上 (zh) (dàtǐshang), 大體而言／大体而言 (dàtǐ éryán), 大体而言 (dàtǐ éryán), 全盤看來／全盘看来 (quánpán kànlái), 全盘看来 (quánpán kànlái), 一般 (zh) (yībān), 大致上 (dàzhìshang)

• Czech: celkem vzato
• Danish: i det store og hele, i det store hele, stort set
• Dutch: over het geheel genomen
• Finnish: yleisesti ottaen, suurin piirtein (fi), kokonaisuutena
• French: en majeure partie, en gros (fr), pratiquement (fr)
• Georgian: მთლიანობაში (mtlianobaši), ზოგადად (zogadad)
• German: im Großen und Ganzen (de)
• Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: nagyjából (hu)
• Italian: in generale, in linea di massima
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 全般的にみて (ぜんぱんてきにみて, zeppanteki ni mite)
• Korean: 대부분 (ko) (daebubun)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: i det store og hele, stort sett

  Nynorsk: i det store og heile, stort sett

• Persian: کلاً (fa) (kollan)
• Portuguese: em geral, no geral
• Russian: в о́бщем и це́лом (ru) (v óbščem i célom), в о́бщем (ru) (v óbščem), по бо́льшей ча́сти (po bólʹšej části)
• Scottish Gaelic: san fharsaingeachd
• Spanish: en general
• Swedish: i allmänhet, mestadels (sv), i stort sett (sv), på det hela taget, i det stora hela
• Telugu: మొత్తమ్మీద (te) (mottammīda)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can