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By and large means “in general” or "on the whole" in most contexts, but in sailors’ lingo of yore, whence the phrase arose, by and large described a vessel alternately sailing as directly into the wind as possible (typically within about 45 degrees of the wind)—that is, by—and away from the direction from which the wind is blowing, with the wind hitting the vessel’s widest point—that is, large. (Note that this by also appears in the term full and by: "sailing as directly into the wind as possible and with all sails full.") William Bourne’s 1578 book Inventions or Devises offers insight into the phrase’s original use: “… to make a ship to draw or go but little into the water, and to hold a good wind, and to sail well both by and large, were very necessary …” As has happened with much nautical jargon, the phrase eventually came ashore. By and large, landlubbers welcomed it, first in the sense "in many directions" or "in all ways," and ultimately with its present meaning of "in general."
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Examples of by and large in a Sentence
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2024
The Israeli intelligence assessment is that the Iranian people by and large do not want this war with Israel.
—Thomas L. Friedman, The Mercury News, 2 Oct. 2024
But by and large, the way people watched TV hadn’t changed since the 1950s.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2024
Erin Mansfield: So there are about 3000 counties in this country, and while there are some states, say the ones in New England, that don't really have county governments, by and large our elections are run by county governments.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“By and large.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20and%20large. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
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