first-person

1 of 2

adjective

first-per·​son ˈfərs(t)-ˈpər-sᵊn 

variants or less commonly first person

1

: of, relating to, or occurring in the first person

a first-person narrative

a first-person verb form

2

: experienced as if through the eyes of an avatar (as in a video game)

As 3-D first-person games evolved, … visual verisimilitude improved …

—Ian Bogost

When playing as the lead guitarist in first person mode players will see fans react to how they play.

—Sean Michael

see also first-person shooter

first person

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a set of linguistic forms (such as verb forms, pronouns, and inflectional affixes) referring to the speaker or writer of the utterance in which they occur

b

: a linguistic form belonging to such a set

c

: reference of a linguistic form to the speaker or writer of the utterance in which it occurs

2

: a style of discourse marked by general use of verbs and pronouns of the first person

Examples of first-person in a Sentence

Noun

She always wrote in the first person.

The sentence “I was born in Maine” is written in the first person.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The first-person shooter game is the best-selling game of 2025 to date, according to market research company Circana. —Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Dec. 2025

Each story is restricted to its first-person narrator. —Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 23 Dec. 2025

The next year, the studio launched Call of Duty — and the success of the first-person shooter game spawned a popular franchise that has since sold 500 million copies, per BBC News. —David Chiu, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025

Made by Battlefield Studios, Battlefield 6 may not be reinventing the wheel but proves to be one of the year’s most thrilling titles – thanks to its immersive, white-knuckle first-person gameplay. —Marc Saltzman, USA Today, 19 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1751, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

first person

noun

1

: a set of words or forms (as pronouns or verb forms) referring to the person speaking or writing them

2

: a writing style making use of pronouns and verbs of the first person

first person narration