at first
IdiomsExample Sentences
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After one of his patients died, Stephen Hibbs believed A.I. could have saved him—at least, at first.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
A year earlier she had been diagnosed with Addison's disease, a rare autoimmune condition, so at first the family thought it was possible the two could be linked.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The adjustment to the college game was a bit rough for them at first, and the sisters did not get much playing time together until their junior year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Maybe life as a sheep isn’t so bad after all—a conclusion that Felix, fortunately, has arrived at first.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
What I believed, at first, was that there were things about this war that I did not understand, that were above my station and pay grade.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
