mostly
Loading your saved state.
mostly
In most cases; usually or predominantly. It is a somewhat more formal variant of 'meistens' (usually/mostly).
Die Teilnehmer der Konferenz waren zumeist Wissenschaftler.
The participants at the conference were mostly scientists.
As an adverb, 'zumeist' (mostly) can stand in position 1; then the verb follows in position 2. But it can also stand after the verb in the middle of the sentence.
Zumeist sind die Museen montags geschlossen.
Most of the time, the museums are closed on Mondays.
'Zumeist' (mostly) belongs more to written language or to a formal style. It is often used in reports, academic texts, or formal speeches.
Die eingereichten Manuskripte stammten zumeist von noch unbekannten Autoren.
The submitted manuscripts came mostly from still-unknown authors.
The word is made up of 'zu' and 'meist'. 'Meist' is the superlative of 'viel' (much/many). This structure is also found in other adverbs such as 'zuerst' (first) or 'zuletzt' (last).
Die Touristen in dieser Region sind zumeist Familien mit Kindern.
The tourists in this region are mostly families with children.
mostly / most
Meist and zumeist both refer to the majority of cases. Meist is stylistically neutral and works well in everyday speech. Zumeist sounds somewhat more formal and is therefore more suitable for formal reports or other more elevated texts.
Laut dem Bericht beantwortet sie die Fragen zumeist sofort.
According to the report, she usually answers the questions immediately.
Im Gespräch beantwortet sie die Fragen meist sofort.
In conversation, she usually answers the questions immediately.
