ENGLISH
REFERENCE

the first thing I did

idiom
Meaning

you use this to talk about the very first action you took in a sequence of events.


Examples
SIMPLE

The first thing I did was turn on the lights.

CONTEXTUAL

When I arrived at the hotel, the first thing I did was check the view from my balcony.

COMPLEX

Upon discovering the error in the financial report, the first thing I did was contact the department head to initiate an immediate review of the data.

Last updated April 22, 2026