How to Use first in a Sentence

first

1 of 3 adjective

• We sat in the first row.
• I still remember the first time I saw her.
• She succeeded on her first attempt.
• Twelve turnovers in the first half.
  — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 26 Apr. 2026
• The first idea is the best idea.
  — Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
• That theme grew in the first half.
  — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
• And then the first shot is heard.
  — Hannah Fingerhut, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
• The first week and none of the rest.
  — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026
• Zverev won his first eight points on serve.
  — Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
• These will be the first to split in storms.
  — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 May 2026
• The Mariners won two of the first three games.
  — Data Skrive, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
• That appears on the first page.
  — Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
• This is my first time growing onions.
  — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
• It was shut out in its first two matches.
  — Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026
• We were trained for the first problem.
  — Julie Averill, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
• These are the first to split and topple over.
  — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 May 2026
• Was this your first time meeting him?
  — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 16 May 2026
• The first session didn’t do much.
  — Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
• The back end of the month will be warm, but the first two weeks?
  — Ron Smiley, CBS News, 2 May 2026
• This is your first time out here without her.
  — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026
• Videos do not clearly show who fired the first shot.
  — Hannah Fingerhut, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
• All of this happens in the first third of the film.
  — Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 16 May 2026
• Their last two first-round exits came in five games.
  — Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 May 2026
• This week, the judges gave Andy his first 7s.
  — Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
• Sign up here to be the first to read the next edition.
  — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2026
• The Brain Stress first starts in the brain.
  — Sandra Rose Salathe, Flow Space, 29 Oct. 2025
• Martha picked up the journal and opened it to the first page.
  — Cassandra Neyenesch, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026
• Andrés Giménez hit his first homer in six weeks.
  — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
• His first game back was against the Sooners.
  — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 14 June 2026
• There’s even footage of their adorable—and, ahem, awks—first meeting.
  — Naydeline Mejia, Women's Health, 28 May 2023

first

2 of 3 adverb

• I have to pay him first.
• I loved her when I first saw her.
• We'll get started soon, but first we have to make sure everyone is here.
• These problems are not as simple as they first appear.
• This word was first recorded in the 19th century.
• One guy knocked on the door first.
  — Nicole Comstock, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
• And that’s where you two first crossed paths.
  — Daniela Tijerina, Vanity Fair, 20 Mar. 2026
• Well, first of all, your recipe makes a slab.
  — Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Jan. 2026
• But Bichette will have to get healthy first.
  — Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
• And a district that puts them first.
  — Tim Fang, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
• Turn it on for email accounts first.
  — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
• Sign up to get it in your inbox first.
  — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2026
• What first drew you into that world?
  — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 20 Feb. 2026
• Rome did it first and for nearly twice as long.
  — Gary Grasso, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
• Cox was first placed in the back of a squad car that had seat belts.
  — Ana Ley, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2023
• Instead, his name was called first.
  — Clayton Davis, Variety, 6 Feb. 2026
• Bubela picks up a grounder off the hop and throws it to first for the out.
  — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
• When Erin first told me about the show, this was years ago.
  — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
• Bubela corralls a grounder and flings it to first for an out.
  — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
• Start with your packing cube of clothes and place that in first.
  — Vicki Denig, Travel + Leisure, 23 Sep. 2023
• Log in Sign up Want to log in first?
  — X (formerly Twitter), 13 Aug. 2025
• Log in Sign up Want to log in first?
  — X (formerly Twitter), 13 Aug. 2025
• But the clinic can’t help those who don’t first ask for it.
  — Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2026
• This one looked like a Bruins romp at first.
  — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
• At first, Bonet was the more famous of the pair.
  — Jazmine Hughes, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2025
• At least one state from the South will be among the group that votes first.
  — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 29 May 2026
• Dockery first saw the film at a cast screening a few months ago.
  — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025
• Armstrong wasn’t much of a scorer at first.
  — Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
• If using tap water, boil it first.
  — Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 May 2026
• Washington took its first lead in nine games with a two-run first.
  — Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2025

first

3 of 3 noun

• I couldn't get the car out of first.
• Her solo flight across the Atlantic was a remarkable first.
• They were responsible for several engineering firsts.
• But the firsts don’t stop there.
  — Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 9 Apr. 2026
• There’s a lot of shows about firsts — first job, first love.
  — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2026
• What do these historic firsts mean to you?
  — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026
• A lot of debuts, a lot of firsts for a lot of guys.
  — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
• But that was just the first of the firsts that this mission would achieve.
  — Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 7 Apr. 2026
• His first was in 2019 as part of a trio.
  — Elizabeth Marie Himchak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
• This was a big week of firsts for Jasir Fontenot.
  — Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
• Let’s look at those three firsts to Memphis.
  — John Hollinger, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
• This left her no choice but to become a writer of many firsts.
  — Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024
• Heck, four late firsts might just be worth it for Robertson, too.
  — Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 30 June 2026
• Artemis 2 was a mission of firsts in many other ways as well.
  — Mike Wall, Space.com, 11 Apr. 2026
• Woodford Reserve has had a few firsts this fall.
  — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 12 Sep. 2025
• But this was only one of many historic firsts for Ride.
  — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 3 June 2026
• The flight marks several firsts.
  — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
• Sure, Guerin could dangle even more future firsts.
  — Michael Russo, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
• This is a match of firsts for several reasons.
  — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 28 June 2026
• Koch is no stranger to extended stints in space, nor to historic firsts.
  — Denise Chow, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026
• Macabre has been somewhat of a party theme among the couple’s firsts.
  — Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 12 Aug. 2023
• Those would both be firsts in the history of spaceflight.
  — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 15 Aug. 2025
• It’s been a season of firsts for FIU.
  — Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 25 Nov. 2025
• That year, China sent a rover to the far side of the moon – a historic first.
  — Jessie Yeung, CNN, 13 July 2023
• Rosé Sunday night is going to be a night of firsts for Rosé.
  — Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2026
• The Soviet Union got all the firsts.
  — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 8 Apr. 2026
• Even after a decade, Princess Kate is still having tiara firsts.
  — Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 26 July 2023
• The special offers several firsts for those who want to watch it live on the couch.
  — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2026
• This year’s Holiday Bowl will achieve some firsts.
  — Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2025
• All three were firsts for Nanjappa, who placed fifth at states as a sophomore.
  — Glenn Graham, baltimoresun.com, 24 Sep. 2019