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 Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said authorities arrested Aaron Farinacci, a 37-year-old Spokane resident, on a first-degree arson charge related to one of three major fires burning in the eastern Washington area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
That includes all first-degree relatives, like a parent or a sibling, according to the current guidelines.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
The case, which concluded last week in a conviction for first-degree murder, has generated exactly the sort of fierce debate, outrage, celebration, and anguish that high-profile criminal trials often produce.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026
Atkins was convicted on dozens of lesser counts Tuesday afternoon, but jurors acquitted him of first-degree murder, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Facing charges of first-degree murder, George sat alone in front of an estimated crowd of fifteen hundred white people who had packed the courtroom and surrounded the building.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
