What does "first" mean?
The person or thing in the first position.
First
/fɜːst/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The person or thing in the first position.
- Grammar: first is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: foremost, 1st, ab initio, ab ovo.
- Useful contrasts: additional, additional digit, aftermost.
- Usage evidence: First, I'm going to do an outline of my new website.
How to use "first"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "first" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "first" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "first" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "first" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "first" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "foremost" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "first", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The person or thing in the first position. uncountable
"He was the first to complete the course."
- 2 Time; time granted; respite. obsolete
- 3 the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first of the bases in the infield (counting counterclockwise from home plate) wordnet
- 4 The first gear of an engine. uncountable
- 5 the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 Something that has never happened before; a new occurrence. countable
"This is a first. For once he has nothing to say."
- 7 an honours degree of the highest class wordnet
- 8 First base. countable
"There was a close play at first."
- 9 the first element in a countable series wordnet
- 10 A first-class honours degree. British, colloquial, countable
"[Stephen Hawking] […] would go to Cambridge, he said, if they gave him a first, and stay at Oxford if they gave him a second. He got a first."
- 11 the first or highest in an ordering or series wordnet
- 12 A first-edition copy of some publication. colloquial, countable
- 13 the time at which something is supposed to begin wordnet
- 14 A fraction whose (integer) denominator ends in the digit 1. countable, in-compounds, uncountable
"one forty-first of the estate"
Verb
- 1 To propose (a new motion) in a meeting, which must subsequently be seconded. rare, transitive
"This motion has been firsted and seconded. I desire to third it."
Adjective
- 1 Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest. no-comparative
"Hancock was first to arrive."
- 2 Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest. no-comparative
"Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece."
- 3 Of or belonging to a first family. no-comparative
"First Cat; First Daughter; First Dog; First Son"
- 4 Coming right after the zeroth in things that use zero-based numbering. no-comparative
Adjective
- 1 ranking above all others wordnet
- 2 serving to begin wordnet
- 3 serving to set in motion wordnet
- 4 preceding all others in time or space or degree wordnet
- 5 highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Before anything else; firstly. not-comparable
"Clean the sink first, before you even think of starting to cook."
- 2 For the first time. not-comparable
"I first witnessed a death when I was nine years old."
Adverb
- 1 before anything else wordnet
- 2 the initial time wordnet
- 3 prominently forward wordnet
- 4 before another in time, space, or importance wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"First, I'm going to do an outline of my new website."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "first"?
Common synonyms include: foremost, 1st, ab initio, ab ovo, aborigine, ahead.
How do you use "first" in a sentence?
First, I'm going to do an outline of my new website.
How do you pronounce "first"?
Pronounced /fɜːst/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English first, furst, ferst, fyrst, from Old English fyrest, from Proto-West Germanic *furist, from Proto-Germanic *furistaz (“foremost, first”), superlative of Proto-Germanic *fur, *fura, *furi (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European *per-, *pero- (“forward, beyond, around”), equivalent to fore + -est. Cognate with North Frisian foarste (“first”), Dutch voorste (“foremost, first”), German Fürst (“chief, prince”, literally “first (born)”), Swedish först (“first”), Norwegian Nynorsk fyrst (“first”), Icelandic fyrstur (“first”). Other cognates include Sanskrit पूर्व (pūrva, “first”) and Russian первый (pervyj).
Etymology 2
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 3
* As a German surname, variant of Fürst, Furst. * As a Jewish surname, from Yiddish פֿירשט (firsht, “prince”), a rendition of the above. * As a Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, from the noun firšt (“prince”), a loanword from German and thus related to the above.