in the first instance
idiom
formal
: before other events happen : as the first thing in a series of actions
You will be seen in the first instance by your own doctor who may then send you to a specialist.
Examples of in the first instance in a Sentence
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The commission is trying to get the parliament and EU member states to agree, in the first instance, to a postponement law, that would set down the timeline changes for implementation to offer some clarity for businesses.
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María Mendiluce, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
Sometimes, courts threaten to hold the lawyers themselves in contempt if there is a belief on the part of the court that the lawyers are not complying with what the court ordered in the first instance.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2025
Under Loper Bright,] our task [instead] is to determine ‘the best reading of the statute’ in the first instance.
—Alden Abbott, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
Using my fitness examples again, in the first instance, my actions were irregular, insufficient and not aligned.
—David Deane-Spread, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for in the first instance
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María Mendiluce, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
Sometimes, courts threaten to hold the lawyers themselves in contempt if there is a belief on the part of the court that the lawyers are not complying with what the court ordered in the first instance.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2025
Under Loper Bright,] our task [instead] is to determine ‘the best reading of the statute’ in the first instance.
—Alden Abbott, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
Using my fitness examples again, in the first instance, my actions were irregular, insufficient and not aligned.
—David Deane-Spread, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for in the first instance
Cite this Entry
“In the first instance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20the%20first%20instance. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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