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Examples of firstly in a Sentence
firstly, gather all the ingredients together
Recent Examples on the Web
So many wonderful and talented people have been involved in the making of ‘Vera’ across all the series, but none of us would be here without two incredible women: firstly, the absolutely extraordinary talent of the inimitable Brenda Blethyn.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 22 Apr. 2024
Its success leads her to rebel, firstly through passionate love affairs with women and then by reclaiming her authorship.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 22 Feb. 2024
There are of course many differences from last year, firstly Arsenal is not the runaway leader and this time around there are two rivals in the form of Manchester City and Liverpool to contend with.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
In Yura’s world, if a lie is proven to be a lie, firstly, no one cares, and secondly, there will be 1,000 more lies ready and waiting to drown out the truth.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Feb. 2024
The three-drug combination involves, firstly, an anesthetic or sedative, then a drug to paralyze the prisoner and, lastly, a drug to stop the heart, the DPIC said.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 24 Jan. 2024
There were two topics that were hotly debated: firstly, who would win?
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 12 Jan. 2024
For Reti, 44, the cyclone is a reminder of historic loss: firstly through colonial land confiscations, and later the Public Works Act, which allowed land to be claimed for roads.
—Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023
Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Azman of Ukraine shared photos of his grandchildren sheltering firstly in Kyiv and now in Israel.
—Yulia Drozd, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'firstly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of firstly was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near firstly
Cite this Entry
“Firstly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/firstly. Accessed 15 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
firstly
adverb
first·ly
ˈfərst-lē
: in the first place
More from Merriam-Webster on firstly
Nglish: Translation of firstly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of firstly for Arabic Speakers
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