1. (noun)first, number one the first or highest in an ordering or series "He wanted to be the first"
2. (noun)first, number one, number 1 the firstelement in a countable series "the first of the month"
3. (noun)beginning, commencement, first, outset, get-go, start, kickoff, starting time, showtime, offset 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"
5. (noun)first, first-class honours degree an honoursdegree of the highest class
6. (noun)first gear, first, low gear, low the lowest forwardgearratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving
7. (adj)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"
9. (adj)inaugural, initiative, initiatory, first, maiden 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"
10. (adj)beginning(a), first serving to begin "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse"
11. (adj)first, foremost, world-class rankingabove all others
"was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate"
12. (adj)first highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections
"first soprano"; "the first violin section"; "played first horn"
13. (adverb)first, firstly, foremost, first of all, first off before anything else
"first we must consider the garter snake"
14. (adverb)first, for the first time the initialtime "when Felix first saw a garter snake"
15. (adverb)first before another in time, space, or importance "I was here first"; "let's do this job first"
16. (adverb)foremost, first prominently forward "he put his best foot foremost"
Definition of 'first'
