What does “first” mean?
- 1
adjectivecoming before all others in time, order or importance
January is the first month of the year.
- 2
adverbbefore anything or anyone else
Finish your work first, then you can play.
- 3
numbernumber one in a series (1st)
She came first in the race.
First at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective, adverb & number
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /fɜrst/ · FURST
How to use “first” correctly
“At first” means at the beginning (and later it changed); “first” or “firstly” lists your first point: “At first I hated it, but now I love it.”
Common phrases with “first”
- at first
- first of all
- for the first time
- first aid
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
“first” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- long adjectiveA1measuring a great distance from one end to the other
- half nounA1one of two equal parts of something
- second numberA1coming after the first one in order
- best adjectiveA1better than all others
- better adjectiveA1of a higher standard or more suitable than something else
- big adjectiveA1large in size or amount
- dark adjectiveA1with little or no light
- different adjectiveA1not the same as another person or thing