first-degree
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the lowest or first in a series.
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of or relating to the highest or most serious in a series.
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 results showed the two were first-degree relatives.
From Science Daily • Feb. 17, 2026
Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday that prosecutors plan to charge Lakanwal with first-degree murder over the death of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
Hennepin County Attorney General Mary Moriarty is also seeking first-degree murder charges against Boelter.
From Salon • Jun. 16, 2025
Momeni was found not guilty of the more serious charge of first-degree murder, which denotes a pre-meditated killing.
From BBC • Dec. 17, 2024
But this set was probably from the first-degree hot chocolate burns.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
