First - Definition

adv 1: before anything else; "first we must consider the garter
snake" [syn: first, firstly, foremost, first of
all, first off]
2: the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake" [syn:
first, for the first time]
3: before another in time, space, or importance; "I was here
first"; "let's do this job first"
4: prominently forward; "he put his best foot foremost" [syn:
foremost, first]
adj 1: 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" [ant: last]
2: indicating the beginning unit in a series [syn: first,
1st]
3: 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" [syn: inaugural,
initiative, initiatory, first, maiden]
4: serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the
first verse" [syn: beginning(a), first]
5: ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the
foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate"
[syn: first, foremost, world-class]
6: highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or
instruments or orchestra sections; "first soprano"; "the
first violin section"; "played first horn" [ant: second]
n 1: the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted
to be the first" [syn: first, number one]
2: the first element in a countable series; "the first of the
month" [syn: first, number one, number 1]
3: 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" [syn: beginning, commencement, first,
outset, get-go, start, kickoff, starting time,
showtime, offset] [ant: end, ending, middle]
4: the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is
stationed at first of the bases in the infield (counting
counterclockwise from home plate) [syn: first base,
first]
5: an honours degree of the highest class [syn: first, first-
class honours degree]
6: the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor
vehicle; used to start a car moving [syn: first gear,
first, low gear, low]