| a. | 1. | Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest; | ||||||
| 2. | Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others. | |||||||
| 3. | Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest;
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| adv. | 1. | Before any other person or thing in time, space, rank, etc.; - much used in composition with adjectives and participles.
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| n. | 1. | (Mus.) The upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; - so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a preëminence in the combined effect. | ||||||
| Noun | 1. | first - the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first" Synonyms: number one |
| 2. | first - the first element in a countable series; "the first of the month" Synonyms: number 1, number one | |
| 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" | |
| 4. | first - the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first base Synonyms: first base | |
| 5. | first - an honours degree of the highest class Synonyms: first-class honours degree | |
| 6. | first - the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving | |
| 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" Antonyms: intermediate - lying between two extremes in time or space or degree; "going from sitting to standing without intermediate pushes with the hands"; "intermediate stages in a process"; "intermediate stops on the route"; "an intermediate level" 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 Synonyms: 1st | |
| 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" | |
| 4. | first - serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse" Synonyms: beginning | |
| 5. | first - ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate" Synonyms: foremost, world-class | |
| 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" Antonyms: second - a part or voice or instrument or orchestra section lower in pitch than or subordinate to the first; "second flute"; "the second violins" | |
| 7. | first - being the gear producing the lowest drive speed; "use first gear on steep hills" Synonyms: low | |
| Adv. | 1. | first - before anything else; "first we must consider the garter snake" |
| 2. | first - the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake" Synonyms: 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" Synonyms: foremost |