first fruits

See synonyms for first fruits on Thesaurus.com
plural noun
  1. the earliest fruit of the season.

  2. the first products or results of anything.

Origin of first fruits

1
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Words Nearby first fruits

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use first fruits in a sentence

  • It was within a week of our engagement, so that I had not to wait long for these first-fruits of my extraordinary position.

  • They were the first-fruits offered to the Son of God after his incarnation, and their blood the first that flowed on his account.

  • May I now, therefore, Illustrious Prince, presume to lay the first-fruits of my juvenile labors at the foot of your throne?

  • Alas, the first-fruits of my acquaintance with the Philanthus promised me more than the future held in store for me!

    More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre
  • Perhaps it refers to his claiming for himself the first-fruits due to the gods, a legend mentioned by Macrobius.

British Dictionary definitions for first fruits

first fruits

pl n
  1. the first results, products, or profits of an undertaking

  2. fruit that ripens first

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012