first principles
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.
Ilyse Hogue: I go back to first principles on a lot of the projects that I work on.
From Slate • May 18, 2026
The proponents of this new set of first principles, most prominently among them the 28th president, Woodrow Wilson, called it progressivism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
But sometimes the most important work is simply clearing the debris, removing the judicial inventions that cloud the text, and returning to first principles.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2025
During her campaign, Badenoch vowed to return the Conservatives to "first principles" and launch a series of reviews in the coming months to shape a new policy platform.
From BBC • Nov. 2, 2024
Our first principles told us that Pauling could not be the greatest of all chemists without realizing that DNA was the most golden of all molecules.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
