adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   At the first level of some system; The most severe level of felony, typically involving planning or other aggravating factors. not-comparable

   "The jury found her guilty of 6 counts of first-degree murder, one for each of the victims of her rampage."

2. 2
   At the first level of some system; The least severe damage from a burn, typically involving only damage to the outer layer of skin. not-comparable

Synonyms

All synonyms

in cold blood

Example

More examples

"Tom has been charged with first-degree murder."

Related phrases

first-degree burnfirst-degree manslaughterfirst-degree murderfirst-degree relative

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.