first

[furst] /fɜrst/
adjective
1.
being before all others with respect to time, order, rank, importance, etc., used as the ordinal number of one: the first edition; the first vice president.
2.
Music. highest or chief among several voices or instruments of the same class:
first alto; first horn.
3.
Automotive. low (def 31).
4.
(often initial capital letter) being a member of the household or an intimate acquaintance of the president of the U.S. or of the governor of a state:
the First Lady; Checkers, the first dog.
adverb
5.
before all others or anything else in time, order, rank, etc.
6.
before some other thing, event, etc.:
If you're going, phone first.
7.
for the first time:
She first visited Atlanta in 1980.
8.
in preference to something else; rather; sooner:
I'd die first.
9.
in the first place; firstly.
noun
10.
the person or thing that is first in time, order, rank, etc.
11.
the beginning.
12.
the first part; first member of a series.
13.
Music.
  1. the voice or instrument that takes the highest or chief part in its class, especially in an orchestra or chorus.
  2. a leader of a part or group of performers.
14.
Automotive. low gear; first gear:
She shifted into first and drove off.
15.
the winning position or rank in a race or other competition.
16.
Baseball. first base.
17.
Usually, firsts. Commerce.
  1. a product or goods of the first or highest quality.
  2. goods produced according to specifications, without visible flaws.
Compare second1 (def 23), third (def 12).
18.
British University.
  1. first-class honors.
    Compare class (def 18).
  2. a person who has won such honors.
Idioms
19.
first and last, everything considered; above all else; altogether:
First and last, it is important to know oneself.
20.
first off, Informal. at the outset; immediately:
He wanted to know first off why he hadn't been notified.
21.
first thing, before anything else; at once; promptly:
I'll call you first thing when I arrive.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English fyr(e)st (see fore1, -est); cognate with German Fürst prince
Related forms
firstness, adjective
Examples from the web for first
  • Researchers have taken only the first steps toward finding definitive answers to both of those questions.
  • Printing too much debt caused the current problem in the first place.
  • For the first time ever, a panda raised by humans was reintroduced into the wild today.
  • Astronomers report they have detected methane for the first time in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system.
  • The lumbering beasts coexisted with the first humans for tens of thousands of years and then died off.
  • Water plants deeply and regularly for the first two years.
  • For the first time, scientists were able to track an asteroid from space to the ground and recover pieces of it.
  • For the first few weeks before and after a course begins, a syllabus gets a lot of attention.
  • Scientists have discovered for the first time a dinosaur with shelled eggs inside her belly.
  • Many do-ahead steps make it easy to set out the first tastes of spring.
British Dictionary definitions for first

first

/fɜːst/
adjective (usually prenominal)
1.
  1. coming before all others; earliest, best, or foremost
  2. (as noun): I was the first to arrive
2.
preceding all others in numbering or counting order; the ordinal number of one. Often written: 1st
3.
rated, graded, or ranked above all other levels
4.
denoting the lowest forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle
5.
(music)
  1. denoting the highest part assigned to one of the voice parts in a chorus or one of the sections of an orchestra: first soprano, the first violins
  2. denoting the principal player in a specific orchestral section: he plays first horn
6.
first thing, as the first action of the day: I'll see you first thing tomorrow
7.
first things first, things must be done in order of priority
8.
(in negative constructions) the first thing, even one thing: he doesn't know the first thing about me
noun
9.
the beginning; outset: I knew you were a rogue from the first, I couldn't see at first because of the mist
10.
(education, mainly Brit) an honours degree of the highest class Full term first-class honours degree
11.
something which has not occurred before: a first for the company
12.
the lowest forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle; low gear
13.
(music)
  1. the highest part in a particular section of a chorus or orchestra
  2. the instrument or voice taking such a part
  3. the chief or leading player in a section of an orchestra; principal
14.
(music) a rare word for prime (sense 11)
adverb
15.
before anything else in order, time, preference, importance, etc: do this first, first, remove the head and tail of the fish
16.
first and last, on the whole; overall
17.
from first to last, throughout
18.
for the first time: I've loved you since I first saw you
19.
(sentence modifier) in the first place or beginning of a series of actions: first I want to talk about criminality
See also firsts
Word Origin
Old English fyrest; related to Old Saxon furist, Old Norse fyrstr, German Fürst prince, one who is first in rank
Word Origin and History for first
adj., adv.

Old English fyrst "foremost," superlative of fore; from Proto-Germanic *furisto- (cf. Old Saxon fuirst "first," Old High German furist, Old Norse fyrstr, Danish første, Old Frisian ferist, Middle Dutch vorste "prince," Dutch vorst "first," German Fürst "prince"), superlative of *fur-/*for-, from PIE root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).

First-class (adj.) is from 1837; first-rate (1660s) is from classes of warships in the British navy. First aid is that given at the scene, pending the arrival of a doctor.

First Lady as an informal title for the wife of a U.S. president was in use by 1908, short for First lady of the land (by 1863 with reference to the president's wife). First name is attested from mid-13c.; first-born is from mid-14c. First base "a start" (1938) is a figurative use from the game of baseball.

first in Medicine

first (fûrst)
adj.

  1. Coming before all others in order or location.

  2. Occurring or acting before all others in time; earliest.

  3. Being the innermost digit, especially on a foot.

first n.
Related Abbreviations for first

FIRST

Foundation for Ichthyosis and Related Skin Types
Idioms and Phrases with first

first

also see: