foremost
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of foremost
before 1000; fore 1 + -most; replacing Middle English, Old English formest, equivalent to form ( a ) first, variant of fruma (compare Latin prīmus ) + -est -est 1
Explanation
Foremost is an adjective that means holding the highest position or rank. When naming advisors, presidents usually search for the foremost experts on various subjects. If you are the foremost in your profession, you're the expert people will seek out for an opinion. If your foremost concern in a project is money, all other factors are secondary. You can also use this word as an adverb meaning "before anything else." The film, Gone With the Wind, is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, but first and foremost, it is a love story.
Vocabulary lists containing foremost
Power Prefix: fore-
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
But art is our foremost way of working through it, of trying to understand who we are, who we become and how.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
The bonds are investment grade, first and foremost, so the risk of issuers defaulting is relatively low.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
But I am, first and foremost, a researcher, so I did the research into it.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
What they did was put SoFi Stadium on everyone’s radar as one of the world’s foremost football stadiums.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
And it was grief, foremost, that Susan Marie suggested.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
