first

noun

(uncountable) The person or thing in the first position.

(uncountable) The first gear of an engine.

(countable) Something that has never happened before; a new occurrence.

(countable, baseball) First base.

(countable, British, colloquial) A first-class honours degree.

(countable, colloquial) A first-edition copy of some publication.

(in combination) A fraction whose (integer) denominator ends in the digit 1.

A surname.

(obsolete) Time; time granted; respite.

verb

(transitive, rare) To propose (a new motion) in a meeting, which must subsequently be seconded.

adjective

Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.

Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest.

Of or belonging to a first family.

Coming right after the zeroth in things that use zero-based numbering.

adverb

Before anything else; firstly.

For the first time.

Synonyms for first

foremostadj firstlyadv beginningn outsetn inauguraladj commencementn initialadj initiatoryadj startv earliestadj initiallyadv beforeadv inceptionn

Synonyms & related words for first

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of first — including foremost, firstly, beginning, outset, inaugural, commencement. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to first

Explore words related to first — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include second, third, fourth, fifth, last, lattermost, secondly, sixth. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for first

Common synonyms for first include foremost, firstly, beginning, outset, inaugural, commencement, initial, initiatory — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.