first
♦♦♦ first /f'ɜːrst/ (firsts)
1 [ORD]
The first thing, person, event, or period of time is the one that happens or comes before all the others of the same kind.
She lost 16 pounds in the first month of her diet.
...the first few flakes of snow...
Two years ago Johnson came first in the one hundred metres at Seoul.
≠ last
[PRON]
First is also a pronoun.
The second paragraph startled me even more than the first...
He put me through a series of exercises to improve my car control. The first was to drive on simulated ice.
2 [ADV] ADV with v, ADV with cl/group
If you do something first, you do it before anyone else does, or before you do anything else.
I do not remember who spoke first, but we all expressed the same opinion...
First, tell me what you think of my products...
Routine questions first, if you don't mind.
3 [ORD]
When something happens or is done for the first time, it has never happened or been done before.
This is the first time she has experienced disappointment...
It was the first occasion when they had both found it possible to keep a rendezvous.
[ADV] ADV with v
First is also an adverb.
Anne and Steve got engaged two years after they had first started going out...
4 [N-SING] a N, oft N for n
An event that is described as a first has never happened before and is important or exciting.
It is a first for New York. An outdoor exhibition of Fernando Botero's sculpture on Park Avenue.
5 [PRON] the PRON that
The first you hear of something or the first you know about it is the time when you first become aware of it.
We heard it on the TV last night-that was the first we heard of it...
6 [ADV] ADV before v
You use first when you are talking about what happens in the early part of an event or experience, in contrast to what happens later.
When he first came home he wouldn't say anything about what he'd been doing.
= initially
[ORD] usu poss ORD
First is also an ordinal.
She told him that her first reaction was disgust...
7 [ADV] ADV after v
In order to emphasize your determination not to do a particular thing, you can say that rather than do it, you would do something else first.
Marry that fat son of a fat cattle dealer? She would die first!
8 [ADV] ADV with cl/group
You use first when you are about to give the first in a series of items.
Certain guidelines can be given. First, have a heating engineer check the safety of the system.
9 [ORD]
The first thing, person, or place in a line is the one that is nearest to you or nearest to the front.
Before him, in the first row, sat the President...
First in the queue were two Japanese students.
≠ last
10 [ORD]
You use first to refer to the best or most important thing or person of a particular kind.
The first duty of any government must be to protect the interests of the taxpayers...
Imagine winning the local lottery first prize of £5,000.
11 [ORD]
First is used in the title of the job or position of someone who has a higher rank than anyone else with the same basic job title.
...the First Lord of the Admiralty.
...the first mate of a British tanker.
12 [N-COUNT] oft N in n
In British universities, a first is an honours degree of the highest standard.
...an Oxford Blue who took a First in Constitutional History.
13 [PHRASE] PHR with cl/group
You use first of all to introduce the first of a number of things that you want to say.
The cut in the interest rates has not had very much impact in California for two reasons. First of all, banks are still afraid to loan.
14 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
You use at first when you are talking about what happens in the early stages of an event or experience, or just after something else has happened, in contrast to what happens later.
At first, he seemed surprised by my questions...
I had some difficulty at first recalling why we were there.
= initially
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone or something comes first for a particular person, you mean they treat or consider that person or thing as more important than anything else.
There's no time for boyfriends, my career comes first.
16 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you learn or experience something at first hand, you experience it yourself or learn it directly rather than being told about it by other people.
He arrived in Natal to see at first hand the effects of the recent heavy fighting.
17 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that you do not know the first thing about something, you are emphasizing that you know absolutely nothing about it.
You don't know the first thing about farming.
18 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you put someone or something first, you treat or consider them as more important than anything else.
Somebody has to think for the child and put him first.
19 [PHRASE]
You say `first things first' when you are talking about something that should be done or dealt with before anything else because it is the most important.
Let's see if we can't find something to set the mood. First things first; some music.
20
first and foremost: see foremostfirst aid
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
First aid is simple medical treatment given as soon as possible to a person who is injured or who suddenly becomes ill.
There are many emergencies which need prompt first aid treatment.
...a first aid kit.first born
also first-born
[N-SING] oft N n
Someone's first born is their first child.
She was my first-born...first cous|in (first cousins)
[N-COUNT] oft with poss
Someone's first cousin is the same as their cousin. Compare second cousin.first de|gree (first degrees)
[N-COUNT]
People who have gained a higher qualification after completing a basic university degree such as a BA or a BSc refer to that basic degree as their first degree.
He was born in Zimbabwe where he completed his first degree in economics.first ever
also first-ever
[ADJ] usu ADJ n
Something that is the first ever one of its kind has never happened before.
It's the first-ever meeting between leaders of the two countries.first floor (first floors)
1 [N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The first floor of a building is the floor immediately above the one at ground level. (BRIT; in AM, use second floor)
2 [N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The first floor of a building is the one at ground level. (AM; in BRIT, use ground floor)first fruits
[N-PLURAL] usu N of n
The first fruits of a project or activity are the earliest results or profits.
The deal is one of the first fruits of a liberalization of foreign investment law.first hand
also first-hand, firsthand
1 [ADJ] ADJ n
First hand information or experience is gained or learned directly, rather than from other people or from books.
School trips give children firsthand experience not available in the classroom.
[ADV] ADV after v
First-hand is also an adverb.
We've been through Germany and seen first-hand what's happening there.
2
at first hand: see firstfirst lady (first ladies)
[N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The First Lady in a country or state is the wife of the president or state governor, or a woman who performs the official duties normally performed by the wife.first lan|guage (first languages)
[N-COUNT]
Someone's first language is the language that they learned first and speak best; used especially when someone speaks more than one language.first name (first names)
[N-COUNT] usu poss N
Your first name is the first of the names that were given to you when you were born. You can also refer to all of your names except your surname as your first names.
Her first name was Mary. I don't know what her surname was.
[PHRASE] usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n
If two people are on first-name terms, they know each other well enough to call each other by their first names, rather than having to use a more formal title.
The two were said to have been on first-name terms...first night (first nights)
[N-COUNT] oft N n
The first night of a show, play, or performance is the first public performance of it.first of|fend|er (first offenders)
[N-COUNT]
A first offender is a person who has been found guilty of a crime for the first time.first per|son
[N-SING] the N
A statement in the first person is a statement about yourself, or about yourself and someone else. The subject of a statement like this is `I' or `we'.
He tells the story in the first person...first school (first schools)
[N-COUNT]
A first school is a school for children aged between five and eight or nine. (BRIT)
1 [ORD]
The first thing, person, event, or period of time is the one that happens or comes before all the others of the same kind.
She lost 16 pounds in the first month of her diet.
...the first few flakes of snow...
Two years ago Johnson came first in the one hundred metres at Seoul.
≠ last
[PRON]
First is also a pronoun.
The second paragraph startled me even more than the first...
He put me through a series of exercises to improve my car control. The first was to drive on simulated ice.
2 [ADV] ADV with v, ADV with cl/group
If you do something first, you do it before anyone else does, or before you do anything else.
I do not remember who spoke first, but we all expressed the same opinion...
First, tell me what you think of my products...
Routine questions first, if you don't mind.
3 [ORD]
When something happens or is done for the first time, it has never happened or been done before.
This is the first time she has experienced disappointment...
It was the first occasion when they had both found it possible to keep a rendezvous.
[ADV] ADV with v
First is also an adverb.
Anne and Steve got engaged two years after they had first started going out...
4 [N-SING] a N, oft N for n
An event that is described as a first has never happened before and is important or exciting.
It is a first for New York. An outdoor exhibition of Fernando Botero's sculpture on Park Avenue.
5 [PRON] the PRON that
The first you hear of something or the first you know about it is the time when you first become aware of it.
We heard it on the TV last night-that was the first we heard of it...
6 [ADV] ADV before v
You use first when you are talking about what happens in the early part of an event or experience, in contrast to what happens later.
When he first came home he wouldn't say anything about what he'd been doing.
= initially
[ORD] usu poss ORD
First is also an ordinal.
She told him that her first reaction was disgust...
7 [ADV] ADV after v
In order to emphasize your determination not to do a particular thing, you can say that rather than do it, you would do something else first.
Marry that fat son of a fat cattle dealer? She would die first!
8 [ADV] ADV with cl/group
You use first when you are about to give the first in a series of items.
Certain guidelines can be given. First, have a heating engineer check the safety of the system.
9 [ORD]
The first thing, person, or place in a line is the one that is nearest to you or nearest to the front.
Before him, in the first row, sat the President...
First in the queue were two Japanese students.
≠ last
10 [ORD]
You use first to refer to the best or most important thing or person of a particular kind.
The first duty of any government must be to protect the interests of the taxpayers...
Imagine winning the local lottery first prize of £5,000.
11 [ORD]
First is used in the title of the job or position of someone who has a higher rank than anyone else with the same basic job title.
...the First Lord of the Admiralty.
...the first mate of a British tanker.
12 [N-COUNT] oft N in n
In British universities, a first is an honours degree of the highest standard.
...an Oxford Blue who took a First in Constitutional History.
13 [PHRASE] PHR with cl/group
You use first of all to introduce the first of a number of things that you want to say.
The cut in the interest rates has not had very much impact in California for two reasons. First of all, banks are still afraid to loan.
14 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
You use at first when you are talking about what happens in the early stages of an event or experience, or just after something else has happened, in contrast to what happens later.
At first, he seemed surprised by my questions...
I had some difficulty at first recalling why we were there.
= initially
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone or something comes first for a particular person, you mean they treat or consider that person or thing as more important than anything else.
There's no time for boyfriends, my career comes first.
16 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you learn or experience something at first hand, you experience it yourself or learn it directly rather than being told about it by other people.
He arrived in Natal to see at first hand the effects of the recent heavy fighting.
17 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that you do not know the first thing about something, you are emphasizing that you know absolutely nothing about it.
You don't know the first thing about farming.
18 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you put someone or something first, you treat or consider them as more important than anything else.
Somebody has to think for the child and put him first.
19 [PHRASE]
You say `first things first' when you are talking about something that should be done or dealt with before anything else because it is the most important.
Let's see if we can't find something to set the mood. First things first; some music.
20
first and foremost: see foremostfirst aid
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
First aid is simple medical treatment given as soon as possible to a person who is injured or who suddenly becomes ill.
There are many emergencies which need prompt first aid treatment.
...a first aid kit.first born
also first-born
[N-SING] oft N n
Someone's first born is their first child.
She was my first-born...first cous|in (first cousins)
[N-COUNT] oft with poss
Someone's first cousin is the same as their cousin. Compare second cousin.first de|gree (first degrees)
[N-COUNT]
People who have gained a higher qualification after completing a basic university degree such as a BA or a BSc refer to that basic degree as their first degree.
He was born in Zimbabwe where he completed his first degree in economics.first ever
also first-ever
[ADJ] usu ADJ n
Something that is the first ever one of its kind has never happened before.
It's the first-ever meeting between leaders of the two countries.first floor (first floors)
1 [N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The first floor of a building is the floor immediately above the one at ground level. (BRIT; in AM, use second floor)
2 [N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The first floor of a building is the one at ground level. (AM; in BRIT, use ground floor)first fruits
[N-PLURAL] usu N of n
The first fruits of a project or activity are the earliest results or profits.
The deal is one of the first fruits of a liberalization of foreign investment law.first hand
also first-hand, firsthand
1 [ADJ] ADJ n
First hand information or experience is gained or learned directly, rather than from other people or from books.
School trips give children firsthand experience not available in the classroom.
[ADV] ADV after v
First-hand is also an adverb.
We've been through Germany and seen first-hand what's happening there.
2
at first hand: see firstfirst lady (first ladies)
[N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The First Lady in a country or state is the wife of the president or state governor, or a woman who performs the official duties normally performed by the wife.first lan|guage (first languages)
[N-COUNT]
Someone's first language is the language that they learned first and speak best; used especially when someone speaks more than one language.first name (first names)
[N-COUNT] usu poss N
Your first name is the first of the names that were given to you when you were born. You can also refer to all of your names except your surname as your first names.
Her first name was Mary. I don't know what her surname was.
[PHRASE] usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n
If two people are on first-name terms, they know each other well enough to call each other by their first names, rather than having to use a more formal title.
The two were said to have been on first-name terms...first night (first nights)
[N-COUNT] oft N n
The first night of a show, play, or performance is the first public performance of it.first of|fend|er (first offenders)
[N-COUNT]
A first offender is a person who has been found guilty of a crime for the first time.first per|son
[N-SING] the N
A statement in the first person is a statement about yourself, or about yourself and someone else. The subject of a statement like this is `I' or `we'.
He tells the story in the first person...first school (first schools)
[N-COUNT]
A first school is a school for children aged between five and eight or nine. (BRIT)