first
1. [ adjective ] preceding all others in time or space or degree
Examples:

"the first house on the right" "the first day of spring" "his first political race" "her first baby" "the first time" "the first meetings of the new party" "the first phase of his training"

Related terms: last intermediate initial original premier prime firstborn oldest archetypal basic premier freshman early front primary original
2. [ adjective ] indicating the beginning unit in a series
Synonyms: 1st
Related terms: ordinal
3. [ adverb ] before anything else
Synonyms: first_of_all first_off foremost firstly
Examples:

"first we must consider the garter snake"

4. [ adverb ] the initial time;
Synonyms: for_the_first_time
Examples:

"when Felix first saw a garter snake"

5. [ noun ] the first or highest in an ordering or series
Synonyms: number_one
Examples:

: "He wanted to be the first"

Related terms: rank former
6. [ adverb ] before another in time, space, or importance
Examples:

"I was here first" "let's do this job first"

7. [ noun ] (mathematics) the first element in a countable series
Synonyms: number_1 number_one
Examples:

"the first of the month"

Related terms: ordinal_number
8. [ adverb ] prominently forward
Synonyms: foremost
Examples:

"he put his best foot foremost"

9. [ adjective ] serving to set in motion
Synonyms: inaugural maiden initiatory initiative
Examples:

"the magazine's inaugural issue" "the initiative phase in the negotiations" "an initiatory step toward a treaty" "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress" "the liner's maiden voyage"

Related terms: opening
10. [ adjective ] serving to begin
Synonyms: beginning
Examples:

"the beginning canto of the poem" "the first verse"

Related terms: opening
11. [ adjective ] ranking above all others
Synonyms: foremost top
Examples:

"was first in her class" "the foremost figure among marine artists" "the top graduate"

Related terms: best
12. [ adjective ] ranking above all others
Synonyms: foremost world-class
Examples:

"was first in her class" "the foremost figure among marine artists" "the top graduate"

Related terms: best
13. [ noun ] (baseball,sport) the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first base
Synonyms: first_base
Related terms: position baseball_team
14. [ noun ] the time at which something is supposed to begin
Synonyms: beginning start outset kickoff showtime get-go offset starting_time commencement
Examples:

"they got an early start" "she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her"

Related terms: end middle point threshold birth incipiency terminus_a_quo begin begin originate inaugurate
15. [ noun ] Last name, frequency rank in the U.S. is 29015
16. [ adjective ] (music) highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections
Examples:

"first soprano" "the first violin section" "played first horn"

Related terms: second music
17. [ adjective ] being the gear producing the lowest drive speed
Synonyms: low
Examples:

"use first gear on steep hills"

Related terms: forward
18. [ noun ] (Great Britain) an honours degree of the highest class
Synonyms: first-class_honours_degree
Related terms: honours double_first UK
19. [ noun ] the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving
Synonyms: first_gear low_gear low
Related terms: gear car
Similar spelling:   firstly