first principle
Americannoun
noun
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one of the fundamental assumptions on which a particular theory or procedure is thought to be based
-
an axiom of a mathematical or scientific theory
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 in medicine, the first principle of policymakers is “do no harm.”
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
Our first principle, perhaps the most important, is a tribute to my Jewish mother: Meals matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
"We hope this ban is only the start of a reckoning between society and the tech companies that built these platforms with growth as their first principle instead of safety."
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
The first principle is that the president normally should not be using the military to engage in domestic law enforcement.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2025
The principles were Blindness, Loneliness, and Terror, the first principle necessarily and actively cultivated in order to deny the two others.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
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.
