first and foremost

Idioms  

1. Also, first of all. Most important, primarily; also, to begin with. For example, First and foremost, I want to thank our sponsors, or What we need, first and foremost, is a new secretary, or We have to deal, first of all, with the early history. The first term, dating from the late 1300s, is redundant, since first and foremost mean virtually the same thing. Both it and the variant, which dates from the mid-1500s, are used to give emphasis to the initial item in a list of several. Also see first off; first thing.

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Example Sentences

Considering all angles of the situation through the lens of your own well-being first and foremost will give you all the answers you need.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

“It shows them, first and foremost, that you are interested and you are prepared.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

Jessa Lingel, a digital culture and technology expert at the University of Southern California, said the content is first and foremost "bad".

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

"Our goal was first and foremost scientific, but we hope to contribute to the broader policy discussion of how to measure loss and damage and what to do about it," Burke told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

As Tisquantum’s later history made clear, he regarded himself first and foremost as a citizen of Patuxet, a shoreline settlement halfway between what is now Boston and the beginning of Cape Cod.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• basically
• chiefly
• generally
• importantly
• largely
• mostly
• notably
• particularly
• predominantly