in the first place

idiom

1

—used at the end of a sentence to indicate what was true or what should have been done at the beginning of a situation

We should never have gone there in the first place.

I didn't care much for the job in the first place.

2

—used when listing the most important parts of something or the most important reasons for something

I'm not going to tell you because, in the first place, it's none of your business, and in the second place, you would tell everyone else.

Examples of in the first place in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Higher labor costs are one of the primary reasons manufacturers shifted away from the U.S. in the first place, Bowley said. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 27 June 2025

Fortunately, there are tons of products available to help prevent mosquito bites and drive the little buggers away from you in the first place. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 26 June 2025

The changes Apple announced are not a complete departure from the company’s previous policy that drew the European Commission’s attention in the first place. —Kif Leswing, CNBC, 26 June 2025

The tools that made art possible for me in the first place. —Ellen O'Connell Whittet june 25, Literary Hub, 25 June 2025

Rhymes for in the first place

• aromatase
• hydrogenase
• nitrogenase
• oligoclase
• oxygenase
• plagioclase
• polymerase
• streptokinase
• triphosphatase
• abase
• airspace
• apace