English Phrase of the Day

in the first place

Definitions

English > English
in the first place
1. prep. (sequence, idiomatic) to begin with; earlier; first; at the start
The question is not whether I still enjoy the job, when I never enjoyed it in the first place.
In the first place, let's get the basics settled.
Analysis
in
1. prep. Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits.
2. prep. Contained by.
The dog is in the kennel.
3. prep. Within.
4. prep. Surrounded by.
the
1. art. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already
I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.)
The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.)
The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.
2. art. Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause.
first
1. adj. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.
The first day of September 2013 was a Sunday.
I was the first runner to reach the finish line, and won the race.
2. adj. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest.
Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.
place
1. n. (physical) An area; somewhere within an area.
2. n. An open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard.
3. n. A group of houses.
They live at Westminster Place.
4. n. An inhabited area: a village, town, or city.

Example Sentences

Why did you want her in the first place?

I had no business peddling that shit in the first place.

If you don't want to give a pound of flesh to settle a delinquent debt, don't accept the risk in the first place.

Will taxing chewing gum deter those who throw it on the ground from buying it in the first place?

Much of my time at big opera houses is spent reawakening lost souls, reminding people why they wanted to do opera in the first place.

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