first-order

British

adjective

logic quantifying only over individuals and not over predicates or clauses: first-order predicate calculus studies the logical properties of such quantification

"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

Example Sentences

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first-order

The first-order winners may not be the flashiest robot brands.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

That rationale relies on a first-order analysis that ignores the structural realities of modern, interconnected supply chains.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

Climate functions and first-order cabin controls, like the powered windows and outside mirrors, get their own hard switches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

But the case for a republic appears to be a first-order concern to fewer MPs now than it has been in the past.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

No; a lighthouse—probably a first-order light—with its characteristic flash, not duplicated anywhere along this section of the Atlantic coast.

From The Destroying Angel by Louis Joseph Vance

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023