Meaning

• The person or thing in the first position.

  "He was the first to complete the course."

• The first gear of an engine.

• Something that has never happened before; a new occurrence.

  "This is a first. For once he has nothing to say."

• First base

  "There was a close play at first."

• A first-class honours degree.

• A first-edition copy of some publication.

• A fraction of an integer ending in one.

  "one forty-first of the estate"

Meaning

• Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.

  "I was the first runner to reach the finish line, and won the race."

• Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest.

  "Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece."

Meaning

• Before anything else; firstly.

  "Clean the sink first, before you even think of starting to cook."

• For the first time;

  "I first witnessed a death when I was nine years old."