first and foremost

Idioms  

1. Also, first of all. Most important, primarily; also, to begin with. For example, First and foremost, I want to thank our sponsors, or What we need, first and foremost, is a new secretary, or We have to deal, first of all, with the early history. The first term, dating from the late 1300s, is redundant, since first and foremost mean virtually the same thing. Both it and the variant, which dates from the mid-1500s, are used to give emphasis to the initial item in a list of several. Also see first off; first thing.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first and foremost

Dmitriev said the act would have caused "serious damage first and foremost to the US economy and global markets".

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

The first and foremost principle was to have fun over the conventional race to the top.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

"The Torcal is a Bentley first and foremost, created by hand by people who care, using the best available materials and technology to blend heritage with cutting-edge innovation," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Standing microphones, placed on different tiers of the set, never let us forget that Wilson was first and foremost a conductor of voices.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

People didn't think of me first and foremost as being Leib Lejzon.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

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Related Words

• basically
• chiefly
• generally
• importantly
• largely
• mostly
• notably
• particularly
• predominantly

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