first person

American  

[furst pur-suhn] / ˈfɜrst ˈpɜr sən /

noun

1. the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to the speaker's own self first person singular or to a group including the speaker first person plural.

2. a pronoun or verb form in the first person, as I or am in English, or a set of such forms.

3. a literary style in which the narrative is told from the perspective of a narrator speaking directly.

   The story is written in the first person.

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first person British  

noun

1. a grammatical category of pronouns and verbs used by the speaker to refer to or talk about himself or herself, either alone ( first person singular ) or together with others ( first person plural )

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Etymology

Origin of first person

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

It’s told in the first person through Hatcher’s compelling voice as she narrates the horror and heartbreak of her lifetime over the course of a century, echoing William Faulkner’s literary style, which influenced Sarris.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2026

So let’s assess each of them, beginning with the first person to serve as substitute anchor, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

From Salon • Jun. 12, 2026

If the IPO goes well and SpaceX's share price climbs, Musk could become the world's first trillionaire -- the first person in history to be worth more than $1,000,000,000,000.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

According to reporting in the New York Times, “American officials did not learn of the outbreak until Thursday, nine days after the World Health Organization did, and almost a month after the first person died.”

From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026

The first person I thought of was Erishkigal.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda