- the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first base

- the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle

- used to start a car moving

- an honours degree of the highest class

- the first element in a countable series
"the first of the month"

- the first or highest in an ordering or series
"He wanted to be the 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"

- being the gear producing the lowest drive speed
"use first gear on steep hills"

- ranking above all others
"was first in her class"
"the foremost figure among marine artists"
"the top graduate"

- serving to begin
"the beginning canto of the poem"
"the first verse"

- 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"

- 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"

- highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections
"first soprano"
"the first violin section"
"played first horn"

- indicating the beginning unit in a series

- before anything else
"first we must consider the garter snake"

- the initial time
"when Felix first saw a garter snake"

- prominently forward
"he put his best foot foremost"

- before another in time, space, or importance
"I was here first"
"let''s do this job first"

1. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest; as, the first day of a month; the first year of a reign.

2. Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others.

3. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest; as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.

At first blush
See under Blush.

At first hand
from the first or original source; without the intervention of any agent.

"It is the intention of the person to reveal it at first hand, by way of mouth, to yourself." -- Dickens.

First coat
(Plastering), the solid foundation of coarse stuff, on which the rest is placed; it is thick, and crossed with lines, so as to give a bond for the next coat.

First day
Sunday; -- so called by the Friends.

First floor
(a) The ground floor. [U.S.] (b) The floor next above the ground floor. [Eng.]

First
fruit or fruits
(a) The fruits of the season earliest gathered. (b) (Feudal Law) One year's profits of lands belonging to the king on the death of a tenant who held directly from him. (c) (Eng. Eccl. Law) The first year's whole profits of a benefice or spiritual living. (d) The earliest effects or results.

"See, Father, what first fruits on earth are sprung From thy implanted grace in man!" -- Milton.

First mate
an officer in a merchant vessel next in rank to the captain.

First name
same as Christian name. See under Name, n.

First officer
(Naut.), in the merchant service, same as First mate (above).

First sergeant
(Mil.), the ranking non-commissioned officer in a company; the orderly sergeant. Farrow.

First watch
(Naut.), the watch from eight to twelve at midnight; also, the men on duty during that time.

First water
the highest quality or purest luster; -- said of gems, especially of diamond and pearls.

Syn. -- Primary; primordial; primitive; primeval; pristine; highest; chief; principal; foremost.

1. Before any other person or thing in time, space, rank, etc.; -- much used in composition with adjectives and participles.

"Adam was first formed, then Eve." -- 1 Tim. ii. 13.

At first
At the first
at the beginning or origin.

First or last
at one time or another; at the beginning or end.

"And all are fools and lovers first or last." -- Dryden.

1. 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.