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

The bonds are investment grade, first and foremost, so the risk of issuers defaulting is relatively low.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

"We are first and foremost overcome with grief," said local resident Eli Zavala, who was helping with the burials.

From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026

With LeBron we had a king shaping his fiefdom to first and foremost best serve him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

“People divorced from community, occupation, and association,” he wrote, “are first and foremost among the supporters of extremism.”

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

But this one really irked her, and it wasn’t the texting and driving piece, at least not first and foremost.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

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