first of all

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

"That's what we are trying to do. The instant reaction, first of all, is pain, and after that is 'OK, what can I do about it?' And that's it," Arteta said.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

It is, first of all, of aftermarket proportions—about the size of a country ham.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

Alvarez seconded Nahmias’s perception that the cyclotron was used “as a radioactivity factory first of all because great numbers of new radioisotopes could be discovered that way with very little effort.”

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

first of all

Example Sentences

Related Words