first

first  (fûrst)

n.

1. The ordinal number matching the number one in a series.

2. The one coming, occurring, or ranking before or above all others.

3. The beginning; the outset: from the first; at first.

4. Music The voice or instrument highest in pitch or carrying the principal part.

5. The transmission gear or corresponding gear ratio used to produce the range of lowest drive speeds in a motor vehicle.

6. The winning position in a contest: finished the season in first.

7. Baseball

a. First base.

b. A first baseman.

adj.

1. Corresponding in order to the number one.

2. Coming before all others in order or location: the first house on your left.

3. Occurring or acting before all others in time; earliest: the first day of spring.

4. Ranking above all others, as in importance or quality; foremost: was first in the class.

5. Music Being highest in pitch or carrying the principal part: first trumpet.

6. Of, relating to, or being the transmission gear or corresponding gear ratio used to produce the range of lowest drive speeds in a motor vehicle.

7. Of, related to, or being a member of the U.S. president's household: first daughter Amy Carter.

adv.

1. Before or above all others in time, order, rank, or importance: arrived first; forgot to light the oven first.

2. For the first time.

3. Rather; preferably: would die first.

4. In the first place; to begin with. See Usage Note at firstly.

Idiom:

first off/thing

From the start; immediately: Why wasn't I told first off? When I get to work, I have to call my lawyer first thing.

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[Middle English, from Old English fyrst; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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first

Adjective

1. earliest in time or order

2. rated, graded, or ranked above all other levels: the First Lord of the Admiralty

3. denoting the lowest forward gear in a motor vehicle

4. Music denoting the highest voice part in a chorus or one of the sections of an orchestra: the first violin

Noun

1. the person or thing coming before all others

2. the beginning or outset

3. Education chiefly Brit an honours degree of the highest class

4. the lowest forward gear in a motor vehicle

Adverb

1. before anything else: I would advise you to try surgery first

2. for the first time: this story first came to public attention in January 1984 [Old English fyrest]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	first - the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first" number one former - the first of two or the first mentioned of two; "Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered today" rank - relative status; "his salary was determined by his rank and seniority"
	2.	first - the first element in a countable series; "the first of the month" number 1, number one no., ordinal, ordinal number - the number designating place in an ordered sequence
	3.	first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her" offset, outset, showtime, commencement, get-go, starting time, beginning, kickoff, start birth - the time when something begins (especially life); "they divorced after the birth of the child"; "his election signaled the birth of a new age" incipience, incipiency - beginning to exist or to be apparent; "he placed the incipience of democratic faith at around 1850"; "it is designed to arrest monopolies in their incipiency" point in time, point - an instant of time; "at that point I had to leave" starting point, terminus a quo - earliest limiting point threshold - the starting point for a new state or experience; "on the threshold of manhood"
	4.	first - the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first of the bases in the infield (counting counterclockwise from home plate) first base position - (in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player; "what position does he play?" baseball team - a team that plays baseball
	5.	first - an honours degree of the highest class first-class honours degree honours, honours degree - a university degree with honors double first - a first-class honours degree in two subjects Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
	6.	first - the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving first gear, low gear, low auto, automobile, car, motorcar, machine - a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine; "he needs a car to get to work" gear mechanism, gear - a mechanism for transmitting motion for some specific purpose (as the steering gear of a vehicle)
Adj.	1.	first - preceding all others in time or space or degree; "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" front - relating to or located in the front; "the front lines"; "the front porch" early - at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time; "early morning"; "an early warning"; "early diagnosis"; "an early death"; "took early retirement"; "an early spring"; "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties" original - being or productive of something fresh and unusual; or being as first made or thought of; "a truly original approach"; "with original music"; "an original mind" primary - of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary; "primary goals"; "a primary effect"; "primary sources"; "a primary interest" last - coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining; "the last time I saw Paris"; "the last day of the month"; "had the last word"; "waited until the last minute"; "he raised his voice in a last supreme call"; "the last game of the season"; "down to his last nickel"
	2.	first - indicating the beginning unit in a series 1st ordinal - being or denoting a numerical order in a series; "ordinal numbers"; "held an ordinal rank of seventh"
	3.	first - serving to set in motion; "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" initiative, initiatory, maiden, inaugural opening - first or beginning; "the memorable opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth"; "the play's opening scene"
	4.	first - serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse" beginning opening - first or beginning; "the memorable opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth"; "the play's opening scene"
	5.	first - ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate" foremost, world-class best - (superlative of `good') having the most positive qualities; "the best film of the year"; "the best solution"; "the best time for planting"; "wore his best suit"
	6.	first - highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections; "first soprano"; "the first violin section"; "played first horn" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner second - a part or voice or instrument or orchestra section lower in pitch than or subordinate to the first; "second flute"; "the second violins"
Adv.	1.	first - before anything else; "first we must consider the garter snake" first of all, first off, firstly, foremost
	2.	first - the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake" for the first time
	3.	first - before another in time, space, or importance; "I was here first"; "let's do this job first"
	4.	first - prominently forward; "he put his best foot foremost" foremost

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first

adjective 1. earliest, initial, opening, introductory, original, maiden, primitive, primordial, primeval, pristine

adjective 2. top, best, winning, premier

adjective 3. elementary, key, basic, primary, fundamental, cardinal, rudimentary, elemental

adjective 4. foremost, highest, greatest, leading, head, ruling, chief, prime, supreme, principal, paramount, overriding, pre-eminent

noun 5. novelty, innovation, originality, new experience

adverb 6. to begin with, firstly, initially, at the beginning, in the first place, beforehand, to start with, at the outset, before all else from the first start, beginning, outset, the very beginning, introduction, starting point, inception, commencement, the word `go' (informal)

Translations

first [fəːst] adj → primero

adv (= before others) → primero;

(when listing reasons etc) → en primer lugar, primeramente

n (person) (in race) → primero/a;

(AUT) (also: first gear) → primera;

at first → al principio;

first of all → ante todo;

the first of January → el uno or primero de enero;

in the first instance → en primer lugar;

I'll do it first thing tomorrow → lo haré mañana a primera hora;

for the first time → por primera vez;

head first → de cabeza;

from the (very) first → desde el principio

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first [fəːst] adj → premier/ière

adv (= before other people) → le premier, la première (= before other things); en premier, d'abord (= when listing reasons etc); en premier lieu, premièrement (= in the beginning); au début

n (= person) (in race) → premier/ière;

(Brit) (Scol) → mention f très bien;

(Aut) → première f;

the first of January → le premier janvier;

at first → au commencement, au début;

first of all → tout d'abord, pour commencer;

in the first instance → en premier lieu;

I'll do it first thing tomorrow → je le ferai tout de suite demain matin

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first [fəːst] adj → erste(r, s)

adv → als Erste(r, s);

(before other things) → zuerst;

(when listing reasons etc) → erstens;

(for the first time) → zum ersten Mal

n → Erste(r, s);

(Aut) (also: first gear) → der erste Gang;

(Brit) (Scol) → Eins f;

the first of January → der erste Januar;

at first → zuerst, zunächst;

first of all → vor allem;

in the first instance → zuerst or zunächst einmal;

I'll do it first thing (tomorrow) → ich werde es (morgen) als Erstes tun;

from the very first → gleich von Anfang an

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first [fəːst] adj → primo/a

adv (= before others) → il primo, la prima (= before other things); per primo (= for the first time); per la prima volta;

(when listing reasons etc) → per prima cosa

n (= person) (in race) → primo/a;

(BRIT ) (SCOL) → laurea con lode;

(AUT) → prima;

at first → dapprima, all'inizio;

first of all → prima di tutto;

in the first instance → prima di tutto, in primo luogo;

I'll do it first thing tomorrow → lo farò per prima cosa domani;

from the (very) first → fin dall'inizio, fin dal primo momento;

the first of January → il primo (di) gennaio