first-rate
Americanadjective
-
excellent; superb.
-
of the highest rank, rate, or class.
adverb
adjective
-
of the best or highest rated class or quality
-
informal very good; excellent
adverb
Etymology
Origin of first-rate
First recorded in 1660–70
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.
The trick is that in addition to being accomplished comedians, Mr. Segel and Ms. Weaving are also first-rate dramatic actors: Their hatred feels genuine, which only makes the jokes funnier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“You have to be first-rate in your storytelling.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
Lockhart explores themes of mental illness, conspiracy theories and trauma with intelligence and compassion, and his writing is first-rate.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Mr. Sewell is first-rate on the development of Dulles’s foreign-policy philosophy and shows him to be a far more subtle thinker than is often understood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Pausing to turn a page, the lad saw her looking and, with boyish good nature offered half his paper, saying bluntly, “want to read it? That’s a first-rate story.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
