English
first
see also: First
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /fɜːst/
  • (GA) enPR: fŭrst, IPA: /fɝst/
  • (Scotland) IPA: /fɪrst/, /fʌrst/
Adjective

first (not comparable)

  1. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.
    The first day of September 2013 was a Sunday.
    I was the first runner to reach the finish line, and won the race.
  2. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest.
    • 1784: William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., [http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=4SoIAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=ph%C3%A6nomena#PPA1,M1 PREFACE]
      THE favourable reception the Orrery has met with from Perſons of the firſt diſtinction, and from Gentlemen and Ladies in general, has induced me to add to it ſeveral new improvements in order to give it a degree of Perfection; and diſtinguiſh it from others; which by Piracy, or Imitation, may be introduced to the Public.
    Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.
    the first violinist
Related terms Translations Adverb

first (not comparable)

  1. Before anything else; firstly.
    Clean the sink first, before you even think of starting to cook.
  2. For the first time;
    I first witnessed a death when I was nine years old.
Synonyms Translations Noun

first

  1. (uncountable) The person or thing in the first position.
    He was the first to complete the course.
    • 1699, Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet, Heads designed for an essay on conversations ↗
      Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
  2. (uncountable) The first gear of an engine.
  3. (countable) Something that has never happened before; a new occurrence.
    This is a first. For once he has nothing to say.
  4. (countable, baseball) first base
    There was a close play at first.
  5. (countable, British, colloquial) A first-class honours degree.
  6. (countable, colloquial) A first-edition copy of some publication.
  7. A fraction of an integer ending in one.
    one forty-first of the estate
Translations Translations Noun

first (plural firsts)

  1. (obsolete) Time; time granted; respite.
First
Proper noun
  1. Surname


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