first family
Americannoun
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a family having the highest or one of the highest social ranks in a given place.
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(often initial capital letters) the family of the president of the U.S. or the family of the governor of a state.
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a family descended from a colonist or early settler in a country, region, etc..
one of the first families of Virginia.
Etymology
Origin of first family
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45
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.
Already the first family to have three generations play in the majors, they became the first and only family to have all members in each generation participate in the All-Star Game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026
The Sith first family is surrounded by 1970s-era storm troopers and 2010s imperial guards.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
UBS and JPMorgan Chase are two of the other financial firms handling investment accounts for the first family, some of the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The visit, to mark the one-year countdown to next year's Invictus Games for wounded veterans, was meant to be Harry's first family trip back to the UK in four years.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
I said we were not the first family in this situation, and that those who underwent such hardships came out the stronger.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
