Word
first
US/ˈfɝst/
UK/fˈɜːst/
Definitions
01before all others
det. the person or thing that comes before everyone or everything else.
det. denoting the person or thing that precedes all others in a series, sequence, or chronological order.
“She was the first person to arrive at the party on Saturday night.”
“The first chapter of the novel establishes a sense of unease that persists throughout the entire narrative.”
Usage
Usually placed before a noun and often preceded by 'the'.
02before anything else
adv. used to say that something happens before other things.
adv. occurring before any other event or action in time or priority.
“First, you need to wash your hands before you start cooking.”
“First, the researchers gathered data from several independent sources to ensure the study's validity.”
Usage
Often used as a sentence starter to sequence events.
03for the first time
adv. used when you do something that you have never done before.
adv. on the initial occasion of an occurrence or experience.
“I first met my best friend when we were both five years old.”
“The species was first documented by European explorers during an expedition in the late eighteenth century.”
Synonyms
04a new occurrence
n. something that has never happened before.
n. an event or achievement that is the first of its kind.
“This snowy weather is a first for this part of the country.”
“The successful landing on the asteroid was a historic first for the international space agency.”
05lowest gear
n. the gear you use in a car or bike to start moving.
n. the lowest transmission gear in a motor vehicle, providing maximum torque for starting from a standstill.
“You should shift into first gear when you are stopped at a red light.”
“The driver struggled to engage first as the car stalled on the steep incline of the mountain pass.”
Synonyms
06top university grade
n. the highest possible grade for a university degree in the UK.
n. a first-class honours degree, representing the highest level of undergraduate achievement in the British university system.
“He was delighted to find out he had earned a first in history.”
“Securing a first from such a prestigious institution significantly improved her prospects in the competitive job market.”
British English · Informal
Teaching tip
This is specific to the UK education system; American students would refer to a high GPA or graduating 'summa cum laude'.
Synonyms
07most important
adj. the most important or highest in rank.
adj. foremost in importance, rank, or quality.
“Safety is our first priority when we design new cars.”
“The diplomat's first duty was to ensure the safety of the citizens living abroad during the crisis.”
Etymology
From Middle English first, furst, ferst, fyrst, from Old English fyrest, from Proto-West Germanic furist, from Proto-Germanic furistaz (“first, foremost”), superlative of Proto-Germanic furai, furi (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European preh₂- (“before”), from per- (“before; first”), equivalent to fore + -est. Cognates Cognate with Scots first (“first”), Dutch voorste (“foremost, first”), vorst (“prince”), German Fürst (“chief, prince”, literally “first (born)”), Limburgish Vürsch (“prince”), Luxembourgish viischt (“anterior; forward”), Vilamovian fiyśt, fjəšt, fjyśt, fjyšt (“prince”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål først (“first”), Faroese and Icelandic fyrstur (“first”), Norwegian Nynorsk fyrst, først (“first”), Swedish först (“first”); also Latin prīnceps (“first, foremost; chief”), Greek παρ’ (par’), παρά (pará, “despite; less”), Mycenaean Greek 𐀞𐀫 (pa-ro, “from”), Albanian parë (“first; chief, main”), Latgalian pyrmais (“first”), Latvian pirmais (“first; foremost”), Lithuanian pirmas (“first; primary”), Bulgarian пъ́рви (pǎ́rvi), пръ́в (prǎ́v, “first”), Czech and Slovak prvý (“first”), Macedonian прв (prv), први (prvi, “first”), Polish piersy, pierwszy, pirszy (“first”), Russian пе́рвый (pérvyj, “first”), Serbo-Croatian пр̑вӣ, pȓvī (“first”), Slovene prvi (“first”), Armenian հարավ (harav, “south”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬎𐬭𐬎𐬎𐬀 (paᵘruua, “before, first”), Tocharian A pärwat (“first”), Tocharian B parwe (“first”), Sanskrit पूर्व (pūrva, “before”).
From Middle English first, furst, fyrst, from Old English fyrst, fierst, first (“period, space of time, time, respite, truce”), from Proto-Germanic frestaz, fristiz, frestą (“date, appointed time”), from Proto-Indo-European pres-, *per- (“forward, forth, over, beyond”). Cognate with North Frisian ferst, frest (“period, time”), German Frist (“period, deadline, term”), Swedish frist (“deadline, respite, reprieve, time-limit”), Icelandic frestur (“period”). See also frist.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Related words
Idioms
blink first — To be the first party in some situation to give in or back down.
cast the first stone — To act self-righteously in accusing another person, believing oneself to be blameless.
come first — To win first place in a competition.
director of first impressions — A receptionist.
feet first — In the manner of a deceased person (i.e., dead).
first among equals — A person or position that is formally of equal rank to others in a group, but nonetheless takes a leading role within that group.
first and last — A person's combined given name and surname.
first annual — Being the first occurrence of an event that is scheduled or hoped to become annual.
first come, first served — One will be dealt with in the order in which one arrives.
first loser — Second place.
Show all 22
first love — The thing, place, or activity of which one is fondest; one's most fundamental interest or attachment.
first mile — The initial stage of delivery of goods, etc., from the seller or producer to a distribution centre, often involving greater effort or expense.
first of all — Firstly; before anything else.
first of never — A nonexistent day; a day that will never come.
first off — Firstly; before anything else. Often used to introduce the first in a list of points to be made in conversation.
first port of call — The first place to go to start a process.
first up — Firstly; before anything else.
get to first base — To get as far as the first phase or milestone of a goal.
love at first sight — an instantaneous attraction
not one's first rodeo — Not the first time one has been in a particular situation; used to indicate past experience.
play first fiddle — To play a leading role.
shoot first and ask questions later — To take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences, without first adequately investigating the situation.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/first