first person

American  

[furst pur-suhn] / ˈfɜrst ˈpɜr sən /

noun

1. the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to the speaker's own self first person singular or to a group including the speaker first person plural.

2. a pronoun or verb form in the first person, as I or am in English, or a set of such forms.

3. a literary style in which the narrative is told from the perspective of a narrator speaking directly.

   The story is written in the first person.

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first person British  

noun

1. a grammatical category of pronouns and verbs used by the speaker to refer to or talk about himself or herself, either alone ( first person singular ) or together with others ( first person plural )

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Etymology

Origin of first person

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

The journey marks a series of historic accomplishments: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

The historic journey took place three years after the Soviet Union sent the first person of color into space, the Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

Like many others before him — including Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon — Glover cut his teeth as a test pilot out in the Mojave.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

Sir Roger Bannister became the first person to break the four-minute barrier for the mile in Oxford in 1954, bringing the world record back into British hands after Sydney Wooderson's mark was surpassed in 1942.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

“Yeah, like this morning Lassiter wanted to know who was the first person who looked at an artichoke and said, I know, let’s eat that prickly-looking weird thing,” Doug said.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence