Definitions

first of all

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first off adv.
principally adv.

ADVERB

first off

Synonyms

WEAK

first thing firstly foremost immediately in the first place primo up front

ADVERB

principally

Synonyms

STRONGEST

basically chiefly first and foremost generally importantly largely mostly notably particularly predominantly

STRONG

primarily

WEAK

above all before anything else cardinally dominantly eminently especially essentially for the most part fundamentally in the first place in the main materially peculiarly preeminently prevailingly prevalently substantially superlatively supremely to a great degree universally vitally

Antonyms

WEAK

secondarily trivially

Example Sentences

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first of all

"What we've realised is first of all on the environmental level, that a lot of football boots get put into landfill, which we need to avoid, and secondly, these boots are reusable," he said.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

That facility is far away, first of all, in Panama, and is producing nowhere near that number.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

On the ground, "my priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he said.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

They tell hikers, first of all, to stay on the marked trails.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026

Everybody looked at him, at first in shock, and then once he was seen to have suffered no harm it was Mama, first of all, who started to laugh.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

first of all

Example Sentences

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