How to Use first in a Sentence

first

1 of 3 adjective
Definition of firstnext
Synonyms for firstnext
  • We sat in the first row.
  • I still remember the first time I saw her.
  • She succeeded on her first attempt.
  • The identity of the first body and the cause of death have not been released.
    — The Arizona Republic, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Dale and Fray met in the first grade in Lake Oswego and hit it off.
    — oregonlive, 29 May 2023
  • In 2007, for the first but not the last time, Singer’s fund asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
    — Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski, Anchorage Daily News, 22 June 2023
  • About 140 tons of waste were hauled away in the program’s first two months.
    — Gary Warth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2023
  • There’s even footage of their adorable—and, ahem, awks—first meeting.
    — Naydeline Mejia, Women's Health, 28 May 2023
  • The Warriors have won two of the first three, and the loss came by one point in double overtime on Jan. 27.
    — Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
  • Under the terms of the agreement, the first oil must flow by September 2029.
    — James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Sep. 2023
  • Her son, who’d received the first wave of hate on her old phone, failed his classes.
    — Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2023
  • Game 5 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas, with the hosts just win away from hoisting the Cup for the first time.
    — Tim Reynolds, ajc, 11 June 2023
  • Turner says the first time the crew stepped on stage at the Bowl marked a special occasion.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 June 2023
  • The first was in Colorado, where a judge nixed Trump’s request to move the case to federal court.
    — Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 13 Sep. 2023
  • Tiësto said in a statement about his gig as the first DJ to perform throughout the game.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 25 Jan. 2024
  • The first five units have been sold to current Azimut owners.
    — Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 25 Mar. 2024
  • But, during the first game of the 2022 season, that’s precisely what the Eagles did.
    — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2023
  • Now, the first stage of the 177-acre jungled plot is nearing completion.
    — Mary Holland, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Dec. 2023
  • An Ekblad mistake led to the first Golden Knights goal, though.
    — Mike Brehm, USA TODAY, 11 June 2023
  • All went fine in the first few weeks after her infection.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Aliyah Boston, who was evidently not the first choice in the Fever's play, had to take the final shot.
    — Indystar Sports, The Indianapolis Star, 12 July 2023
  • Last year, Toscano ran her first marathon, the Mayor’s Marathon in Anchorage.
    — Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 11 June 2023
  • Opening ceremonies will start at 1 p.m. The first flight will take off at 1:10 p.m.
    — Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 8 Aug. 2023
  • So, the first cat indeed dies, but the second (perhaps real) cat lives.
    — James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2023
  • In the meantime, Bell's is giving fans a first taste of the shandies at its Oberon Day party in Kalamazoo.
    — Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2024
  • Kaczynski lived in a small house at 8 Prescott St. during his first year.
    — Nick Stoico, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2023
  • On the first day of shooting, the Oscar-winning filmmaker had an elder of the nation come to say a prayer for the cast and crew.
    — Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023
  • This is the first time in US history that a House Speaker has been voted out of office.
    — Melissa Noel, Essence, 4 Oct. 2023
  • This isn’t the first study to highlight a link between climate change and poor sleep quality.
    — Maggie O'Neill, Health, 23 Sep. 2023
  • Apple was one of the stars of the week, with the announcement of its first new product category since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015.
    — Benzinga, Detroit Free Press, 10 June 2023
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first

2 of 3 adverb
  • I have to pay him first.
  • I loved her when I first saw her.
  • We'll get started soon, but first we have to make sure everyone is here.
  • These problems are not as simple as they first appear.
  • This word was first recorded in the 19th century.
  • Cox was first placed in the back of a squad car that had seat belts.
    — Ana Ley, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2023
  • He was first hired by the Post in 1972 as a style writer.
    — Michaela Zee, Variety, 14 Jan. 2024
  • Start with your packing cube of clothes and place that in first.
    — Vicki Denig, Travel + Leisure, 23 Sep. 2023
  • If that’s the case, Khan says to floss first and then rinse your mouth with water.
    — Popular Science, 14 Mar. 2024
  • What first brought you to this work focused on the stigma around body weight?
    — Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2023
  • At first, there wasn’t anything too special about the response to the song.
    — Stephen Daw, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2023
  • Hill first rose to prominence as a member of the influential group the Fugees in the 1990s.
    — Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 22 June 2023
  • When this play first hit Broadway, that was cut, ending the show on a more somber note.
    — Joe Lynch, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2023
  • At first, her daughter adjusted well to the move and made friends.
    — Linda K. Wertheimer, The New Republic, 30 May 2023
  • The Ford first left its homeport in May and was scheduled to be on a six-month deployment.
    — WSJ, 18 Oct. 2023
  • The show was first reported to be in the works at Amazon back in February.
    — Joe Otterson, Variety, 4 Dec. 2023
  • The Rabbit Fire was first reported as 20 acres and burning with a rapid rate of spread.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN, 16 July 2023
  • The Giants ranked first in the majors in ground-ball rate last season but worst in errors.
    — Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2024
  • Well, look, Kristen, first of all, nobody has any love for Hamas.
    — Nbc Universal, NBC News, 29 Oct. 2023
  • There have been ways to indict people on DIH charges since the idea first came around almost 50 years ago.
    — Ana Marie Cox, The New Republic, 11 June 2023
  • The sale first opens for Nordstrom cardholders in a tiered system.
    — Andrea Navarro, Glamour, 21 June 2023
  • Kesha first filed suit against Dr. Luke, who was her producer and ran the label she was signed to in 2014.
    — Spin Staff, SPIN, 22 June 2023
  • The pair first met through mutual friends and began dating in 2013.
    — Katie Mannion, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024
  • News of the mayor's devices being seized was first reported by the New York Times.
    — Melissa Russo, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Luke Edgecomb scored and Salinas went to third on an errant pickoff throw to first.
    — Rick Kretzschmar, Dallas News, 17 May 2023
  • This find wasn’t the only first associated with the comet.
    — Greg Daugherty, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Dec. 2023
  • The Salt Lake Tribune first announced Stewart’s plans to resign.
    — Sam Metz and Nomaan Merchant, BostonGlobe.com, 30 May 2023
  • Humans will still have to make the call about who gets help first and where to concentrate resources like food and water.
    — Gear Team, WIRED, 4 Dec. 2023
  • But first, he was headed to the pharmacy to fill his prescription.
    — Lea Skene, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2023
  • Well, first, Leader McConnell is right of course that there are a lot of innocent people in Gaza.
    — CBS News, 29 Oct. 2023
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first

3 of 3 noun
  • I couldn't get the car out of first.
  • Her solo flight across the Atlantic was a remarkable first.
  • They were responsible for several engineering firsts.
  • Two firsts on that day: his first drive and the first of many tokes.
    — Han Ong, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2020
  • That year, China sent a rover to the far side of the moon – a historic first.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN, 13 July 2023
  • This comes at a time of many firsts throughout the tropics.
    — Taylor Ward, CNN, 15 May 2020
  • This was my first time on a Slip 'N Slide, but there’s time for firsts of many things.
    — Lynn Ischay, cleveland, 15 Aug. 2019
  • The Commodores beat the Razorbacks 85-82 to mark two firsts.
    — Bob Holt, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2024
  • Just try to get all the firsts out of the way, putting the uniform on for the first time, being out on the field and all those sorts of things.
    — Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
  • This left her no choice but to become a writer of many firsts.
    — Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Want to deck out your crib with cute, safety-first bedding and gear?
    — Jessica Hartshorn, Good Housekeeping, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Macabre has been somewhat of a party theme among the couple’s firsts.
    — Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 12 Aug. 2023
  • On the campaign trail, Biden vowed to put a Black woman on the high court, which would be an historic first.
    — Ariane De Vogue and Tierney Sneed, CNN, 26 Jan. 2022
  • There have been a lot of firsts for Inter Miami CF over the past few months.
    — Christian Simmons, sun-sentinel.com, 6 Aug. 2019
  • Even after a decade, Princess Kate is still having tiara firsts.
    — Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 26 July 2023
  • Coco Gauff added another first to a year of firsts for the tennis star.
    — oregonlive, 5 Sep. 2023
  • Game 2 was mostly Phoenix as the Suns won every quarter after the a slow first.
    — Ian Firstenberg, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2023
  • So Jacksonville doesn’t need to a damn thing — much less lower their two-firsts asking price.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2019
  • One that people would come back to not just for heaping firsts, seconds, and thirds, but make all year round.
    — Hilary Cadigan, Bon Appétit, 16 Nov. 2019
  • At 35 years old, Jenney Fazande has accomplished a lot of firsts.
    — NBC News, 7 Feb. 2020
  • The cruise will take guests to ports across the world, from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Bali and Barcelona, among others, including some firsts for the line.
    — Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2023
  • All three were firsts for Nanjappa, who placed fifth at states as a sophomore.
    — Glenn Graham, baltimoresun.com, 24 Sep. 2019
  • Her resume was full of firsts: the first woman to place at any Ultra4 event; the first woman to compete in The Race of Gentlemen event.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN, 28 Aug. 2019
  • It’s been a winter of firsts for Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow.
    — Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024
  • Thanks to their lead single, the guys managed to land that elusive No. 1 radio hit and the No. 1 album in the country as well — all firsts for the band.
    — Courtney E. Smith, refinery29.com, 24 Aug. 2019
  • Cuoco and Pelphrey welcomed Matilda at the end of March, and since then the child has had many firsts, including her first plane ride.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 25 Nov. 2023
  • Bids came from in-person and online, where the auction was broadcast for some 200 buyers (a fair first).
    — Pat Stoetzer, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 8 Aug. 2020
  • Big Ten squads occupy the next three positions as Maryland moves up to No. 4 with a pair of firsts.
    — Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY, 3 Dec. 2019
  • It's been a season of firsts for the Titusville, Florida native.
    — Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, 20 Oct. 2019
  • Bluegrass Wise Man ™: Three seconds, two firsts and a third in his career, so, good for him, always in the money.
    — Guy Martin, Forbes, 1 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'first.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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