First Definition

fûrst
firsts, firstmost
noun
firsts
The ordinal number matching the number one in a series.
American Heritage
That one before the second.
Webster's New World
The one coming, occurring, or ranking before or above all others.
American Heritage
Any person, thing, class, place, etc. that is first.
Webster's New World
The beginning; start.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
adjective
firstmost
Corresponding in order to the number one.
American Heritage
Preceding all others in a series; before any other; 1st.
Webster's New World
Happening or acting before all others; earliest.
Webster's New World
Ranking before all others; foremost in rank, quality, importance, etc.; principal.
Webster's New World
Playing or singing the leading part or the part highest in pitch.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
adverb
Before or above all others in time, order, rank, or importance.
Arrived first; forgot to light the oven first.
American Heritage
Before any other person or thing; at the beginning.
Webster's New World
Before doing anything else.
Webster's New World
For the first time.
Webster's New World
As the first point; to begin with.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
idiom
first off
  • From the start; immediately:

    Why wasn't I told first off? When I get to work, I have to call my lawyer first thing.

American Heritage
first thing
  • as the first thing; before anything else
Webster's New World
in the first place
  • firstly; to begin with
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of First

Noun

Singular:
first
Plural:
firsts

Adjective

Base Form:
first
Superlative:
firstmost

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to First

Origin of First

  • From Middle English first, furst, ferst, fyrst, from Old English fyrst, fyrest (“first, foremost, principal, chief, original”), from Proto-Germanic *furistaz (“foremost, first”), superlative of Proto-Germanic *fur, *fura, *furi (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European *per-, *pero- (“forward, beyond, around”), equivalent to fore +‎ -est. Cognate with North Frisian foarste (“first”), Dutch voorste (“foremost, first”), German Fürst (“chief, prince”, literally “first (born)”), Swedish första (“first”), Icelandic fyrstur (“first”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English first, furst, fyrst, from Old English fyrst, fierst, first (“period, space of time, time, respite, truce”), from Proto-Germanic *fristaz, *fristą (“date, appointed time”), from Proto-Indo-European *pres-, *per- (“forward, forth, over, beyond”). Cognate with North Frisian ferst, frest (“period, time”), German Frist (“period, deadline, term”), Swedish frist (“deadline, respite, reprieve, time-limit”), Icelandic frestur (“period”). See also frist.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English fyrst per1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to first using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

first