Home Synonyms first

Synonyms of first in English:

first


See US English definition of first

See UK English definition of first

See Spanish definition of primero

adjective

1‘the first chapter of Genesis’

SYNONYMS
earliest, initial, opening, introductory, original
ANTONYMS

last, closing

2‘the management decided to start from first principles’

SYNONYMS
fundamental, basic, rudimentary, primary, beginning, elemental, underlying, basal, foundation
key, cardinal, central, chief, vital, essential
ANTONYMS

developed

3‘his first priority would be law and order’

SYNONYMS
foremost, principal, highest, greatest, paramount, top, topmost, utmost, uppermost, prime, chief, leading, main, major
pre-eminent, overriding, outstanding, supreme, premier, predominant, prevailing, most important, of greatest importance, of prime importance
vital, key, essential, crucial, central, core, focal, pivotal, dominant
ruling, head
informal number-one
ANTONYMS

last

4‘he is hoping to win the £3,000 first prize’

SYNONYMS
top, best, prime, premier, superlative
winner's, winning, champion

adverb

1‘they went back to the room they had first entered’

SYNONYMS
at first, to begin with, at the beginning, at the start, first of all, at the outset, initially

2‘she would eat first, she decided’

SYNONYMS
before anything else, first and foremost, firstly, in the first place
without further ado, now
ANTONYMS

last

3‘she longed to go abroad, but not at this man's expense—she'd die first!’

SYNONYMS
in preference, more willingly, sooner, rather

noun

1‘from the first, surrealism was theatrical’

SYNONYMS
the beginning, the very beginning, the start, the outset, the commencement
informal the word go, square one, the off
ANTONYMS

the end

2‘we travelled by air, a first for both of us’

SYNONYMS
novelty, new experience, first experience, first occurrence, unusual event
informal a turn-up for the books