number one

adjective

variants also No. 1
Definition of number onenext
1
as in main
coming before all others in importance considers international terrorism to be the number one threat to national security

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in excellent
of the very best kind the company's chocolate is rated as number one by serious chocoholics

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of number one Talked about number one in the country a year ago and some of our championships. — Tom Green | [email protected], al, 15 Mar. 2023 And North Carolina, last year's runner up and this year's preseason number one, missed out entirely. — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2023 Depositors and workers in the companies whose deposits are in that bank need to be job number one. — CBS News, 12 Mar. 2023 The number one priority in those situations is the health of the player. — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2023 See All Example Sentences for number one
Recent Examples of Synonyms for number one
  1. main
  2. excellent
  3. primary
  4. great
  5. predominant
  6. wonderful
  7. foremost
  8. terrific
Adjective
  • Homegrown chip design firm SkyeChip also enjoyed a blockbuster IPO on the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange in May, surging 300% on its main market debut.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • AbdulSalam Mohammed, president of the Abaad Studies & Research Center and an adviser to Yemen’s Information Ministry, told the Washington Examiner that government forces are currently focused on defending against the Houthis along three main axes.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of main
Adjective
  • There’s an excellent Anantara Spa and a state-of-the-art fitness center onsite, but the highlight of the property is its 60-foot-long oceanfront infinity pool, which overlooks the entire expanse of Stone Town beach.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Mikey Madison is excellent as a whistleblower driven by love, not spite.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of excellent
Adjective
  • The war crimes that were brought to the fore on the stage by Macklemore’s speech are the ones that should be the primary focus.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Simmons made some phenomenal throws all over the field, including to his primary receiver, Cayden Lee.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of primary
Adjective
  • The rich collections do a great job of honoring visual traditions and explaining their connections to real people and real places.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Despite deep-rooted tensions between southerners and the PLC, both are in agreement that the Houthi threat is far greater than that of the other.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of great
Adjective
  • The predominant suites—all of which have generous outdoor space—are spread across four buildings whose Indonesian names translate to mountain, hill, plateau and valley.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Through the year 2027, architecture convergence will remain predominant, meaning centralized computing, zonal designs, maturing OTA functionality, shareable and reusable software platforms and stronger hardware/software modularity.
    — Rajjie Sarmey, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of predominant
Adjective
  • There is a wonderful museum in the park that interactively showcases the landscape and cultural history of the Chacabuco Valley as well as this part of the region's ecological loss and path to recovery.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Howell and Sloyan are quite wonderful in these moments, and Howell is exceptional throughout.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of wonderful
Adjective
  • Considered the foremost institution for Asian art in the United States, this additional space will give the museum more room to display roughly 4,000 historic and contemporary works from its more than 21,000-piece collection of Asian artists.
    — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Seeing the internet’s foremost disciple of glow meet the internet’s foremost purveyor of good lighting, though, feels quite satisfying—who else needs another excuse to update that Sephora cart?
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of foremost
Adjective
  • Not enough praise can be heaped upon the excellent cast (in addition to those mentioned above, there’s the terrific Nia Otchere-Sarfo and Jordan Rice rounding out the clique).
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Ternus seems terrific, but Cook as CEO was so special in so many ways.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of terrific

Browse Nearby Words

numberless
number one
numbers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Number one.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/number%20one. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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