firsthand
Americanadverb
adjective
-
of or relating to the first or original source.
-
direct from the original source.
firsthand knowledge of the riot.
Etymology
Origin of firsthand
Explanation
Anything firsthand is directly experienced, so your firsthand knowledge of the new math teacher's purple hair comes from the fact that you've seen it with your very own eyes. When you get information from someone who saw something happen or heard something said, that's firsthand evidence. And anything you see or hear yourself is also firsthand. Your summer job might be a firsthand look at what farming is really like. Interviewing a witness to a crime gives a police officer firsthand testimony about what exactly happened. This word, coined around 1690, comes from the idea that the maker of something is its first hand.
Vocabulary lists containing firsthand
The Skin I'm In
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"Refugees Find New Lives"
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The Flicker
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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.
As secretary of state, one of us saw firsthand how indispensable the U.S. was in arresting the epidemic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
“I’ve seen firsthand how small businesses are crushed by regulation and how long it takes for simple permits. I want to change that.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
Apple customers have firsthand experience with the efficiency of Arm’s designs, which have been used in MacBook chips since 2020 and easily beat x86 chips in terms of speed and battery life.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
The push for answers has been getting stronger and more visible in the UFO community recently, she said; as an admin of a dedicated UFO Facebook group, she's seen it firsthand.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Cicero, though he followed Aristotle, may not even have known his work firsthand.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
