first fruits
Americanplural noun
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the earliest fruit of the season.
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the first products or results of anything.
plural noun
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the first results, products, or profits of an undertaking
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fruit that ripens first
Etymology
Origin of first fruits
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400
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 first fruits of the £15bn programme were seen last week, with the official unveiling of the first electric Range Rover.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
At the company’s annual developers conference this spring, we’ll likely see the first fruits of Apple’s AI collaboration with Google.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
Diogo Rau, Lilly’s chief information and digital officer, cautioned that it still might take years to get the first fruits of AI-powered drug discovery into the hands of patients, likely into the 2030s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
As the effects of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV- 2 continue to recede, trials of Long Covid treatments may serve up their first fruits.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 2, 2024
Word of it crept in among the nuns; the beggars in front of the church spoke of it, for they would be there to take the tithe of the first fruits of the luck.
From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck
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.
