Definition of in the first place
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.
