First | Mean of first in English Dictionary

/ˈfɚst/

• coming before all others in time, order, or importance
1. She won first prize.
2. We sat in the first row.
3. his first wife
4. her first book/child
5. in the first century
6. his first offense
7. her first kiss
8. She succeeded on her first attempt/try.
9. He was (the) first in line.
10. We will correct these errors at the first opportunity. [=as soon as it is possible to do so]
11. English is not my first [=native] language. [=it is not the language I learned first; I learned to speak another language before I learned to speak English]
12. She's in first grade. [=the first level in school after kindergarten]
13. I still remember the first time I saw her.
14. You should leave at the first [=earliest] hint of trouble.
15. My first [=initial] impulse was to say no.
16. This is a matter of the first [=highest] importance.
17. Your first [=main] concern should be to get well.
18. the captain and the first mate [=the officer on a ship who is most important after the captain]
19. She was accused of murder in the first degree. [=first-degree murder; the most serious kind of murder]
• having or playing the main part in a group of instruments
1. first violin
• when first seen or considered
1. At first blush, the proposal seems ridiculous.
2. It appears at first glance/sight to be a simple matter of hiring more people.

• in a direct way
1. I had a chance to verify his claims at first hand.
• anything at all
1. He doesn't know/understand the first thing about the problems we've been having.
• before anything else
1. I'll be back first thing (on) Monday morning.
2. She promised to call first thing in the morning.
• before any other in time, order, or importance
1. I have to pay him first.
2. She finished first in the race. = She came in first in the race. = (Brit) She came first in the race.
3. You go first.
4. He said it first.
5. These problems are not as simple as they first appear.
• for the first time
1. I loved her when I first saw her.
2. We met first at a party. = We first met at a party.
3. This word was first recorded in the 19th century.
• before doing other things
1. We'll get started soon, but first we have to make sure everyone is here.
• to be more important than other things
1. My career is important, but my family comes first.
• at the most basic level
1. He is first and foremost [=primarily, fundamentally] a teacher.
• Noun
• something that is first: such as
• an occurrence, achievement, etc., that happens or exists before any other of that kind
1. Her solo flight across the Atlantic was a remarkable first.
2. They were responsible for several engineering firsts.
• the position of the winner in a competition or contest
1. He took first [=finished in first place] in the pie-eating contest.
• the lowest forward gear or speed of a car, truck, etc.
1. I couldn't get the car out of first.
• a degree of the highest level from a British university
1. take/get a first in English
• when something first happens or begins to happen
1. We didn't like each other at first. [=when we met]
2. At first I thought she was crying, but then I realized she was actually laughing.
3. The book bored me at first. [=initially]
• from the beginning
1. I've loved her from the first.
• the first one or ones
1. They were among the first in line.
2. It was the first of many delays.
3. I'll be the first to admit when I've done something wrong.
4. He was the first to arrive.
5. She was born on the first of May. [=on May 1]
6. The son of King Charles the First became King Charles the Second.
• the first time
1. She's not coming? Well, that's the first I've heard of it! [=I did not know that before now]