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

“You should buy it because you want and/or need a death benefit that will last your entire life, because first and foremost, this is life insurance.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026

“Mayor’s races are first and foremost about what people see outside of their front doors, when they walk their kids to school, when they drive to work,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

It’s not trivializing this summit or missing the point, I would argue, to understand it as first and foremost a semiotic spectacle, conducted through language, symbols and signifiers.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

That means Europe is first and foremost exposed to the risk of a price shock but shortages could emerge if supplies from the Gulf remain choked off.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 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