firsthand

or first-hand

[ furst-hand ]

/ ˈfɜrstˈhænd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR firsthand ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

from the first or original source: We heard the news of the accident firsthand from a witness.

adjective

of or relating to the first or original source.

direct from the original source: firsthand knowledge of the riot.

Words nearby firsthand

first-termer, first-time, first-timer, firstborn, firstcomer, firsthand, firstling, firstly, firstnighter, firsts, firth

Origin of firsthand

First recorded in 1690–1700; first + hand

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for first-hand

As time progressed, her essays became a collection, and now, a first-hand look into the life of being an Ephron.
Delia Ephron Talks Her Memoir, ‘Sister, Mother, Husband, Dog’|Erin Cunningham|September 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He did, however, see Palestine first-hand and supported the Palestinian cause once he did.
Alicia Keys: Come Visit Palestine|Maysoon Zayid|June 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Karl Steinberg, a long-term geriatrician in Oceanside, Calif., knows this first-hand.
Online Mortality Calculator Could Change Health Care—and Our Views on Death|Josh Dzieza|January 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And I don't know this first-hand, but some people just have to do too much in too short a period of time.
Wall Street on Wall Street|Randall Lane|September 24, 2010|DAILY BEAST

A first-hand witness to such chaos, “Elle” has been married to a sex addict for years.
Can Sex-Addiction Rehab Save Tiger?|Abby Ellin|December 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
No scientific history of it exists, and all those who have written on the subject with first-hand knowledge have been party men.
The War With Mexico, Volume I (of 2)|Justin H. Smith
I have both read and heard of another custom, though I have not known of it at first-hand.
The Divine Adventure etc. (Works vol. 4)|Fiona Macleod
The descriptions of nature, the visual observation of life, are first-hand and wonderful.
Emerson and Other Essays|John Jay Chapman
Men cannot wrest a first-hand living from the soil and at the same time cultivate a Piccadilly club-land style and air.
Some Everyday Folk and Dawn|Miles Franklin
For this reason, we have opinion, or, we wouldn't trust her on the first-hand information.
Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for first-hand

first-hand

adjective, adverb

from the original source; direct or directlyfirst-hand news; he got the news first-hand

at first hand from the original source; directly

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