first adverb
• before all others in order, time, amount, quality or importance Tom came first in the race.
Who finished first?
If you get home first, can you put the kettle on?
• for the first time When did you first meet each other?
The company was still very small when I first joined.
(the) first
ordinal number determiner
(a person or thing) coming before all others in order, time, amount, quality or importance I fell in love with him the first time I saw him.
I'm always nervous for the first few minutes of an exam.
in the first place
in or at the beginning (of a series of events) The trousers shrank when I washed them, but they weren't really big enough in the first place.
Thankfully, he wasn't hurt, but he never should have been there in the first place.
in the first instance UK
as the first attempt or effort Enquiries about the post should be addressed in the first instance to the personnel manager.
(Definition of first ordinal number/determiner from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)