English dictionary



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English adjective: first

1. first preceding all others in time or space or degree


SamplesThe 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.


Similararchetypal, archetypical, basic, eldest, first-year, firstborn, freshman, initial, introductory, original, premier, premier, premiere, prime, prime, prototypal, prototypic, prototypical


See alsoearly, front, original, primary


Antonymslast

2. first indicating the beginning unit in a series


Synonyms1st


Similarordinal


Antonymscardinal

3. first serving to set in motion


SamplesThe 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.


Synonymsinaugural, initiative, initiatory, maiden


Similaropening


Antonymsclosing

4. first serving to begin


SamplesThe beginning canto of the poem.
The first verse.


Synonymsbeginning


Similaropening


Antonymsclosing

5. first ranking above all others


SamplesWas first in her class.
The foremost figure among marine artists.
The top graduate.


Synonymsforemost, world-class


Similarbest


Antonymsworst

6. first highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections


SamplesFirst soprano.
The first violin section.
Played first horn.


Domain categorymusic


Antonymssecond


English noun: first

1. first the first or highest in an ordering or series


SamplesHe wanted to be the first.


Synonymsnumber one


Broader (hypernym)rank


Narrower (hyponym)former

2. first (quantity) the first element in a countable series


SamplesThe first of the month.


Synonymsnumber 1, number one


Broader (hypernym)no., ordinal, ordinal number

3. first (time) the time at which something is supposed to begin


SamplesThey got an early start.
She knew from the get-go that he was the man for her.


Synonymsbeginning, commencement, get-go, kickoff, offset, outset, showtime, start, starting time


Broader (hypernym)point, point in time


Narrower (hyponym)birth, incipience, incipiency, starting point, terminus a quo, threshold


Antonymsend, ending, middle

4. first (act) 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)


Synonymsfirst base


Broader (hypernym)position


Member meronymbaseball team

5. first (communication) an honours degree of the highest class


Synonymsfirst-class honours degree


Broader (hypernym)honours, honours degree


Narrower (hyponym)double first


Domain regionBritain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

6. first (artifact) the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving


Synonymsfirst gear, low, low gear


Broader (hypernym)gear, gear mechanism


Part meronymauto, automobile, car, machine, motorcar


English adverb: first

1. first before anything else


SamplesFirst we must consider the garter snake.


Synonymsfirst of all, first off, firstly, foremost

2. first the initial time


SamplesWhen Felix first saw a garter snake.


Synonymsfor the first time

3. first before another in time, space, or importance


SamplesI was here first.
Let's do this job first.

4. first prominently forward


SamplesHe put his best foot foremost.


Synonymsforemost









Based on WordNet 3.0 copyright © Princeton University.
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