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

If Carruthers is executed, he would be the first person in nearly a century to be executed after being forced to represent himself.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

McIlroy’s approach to preparing for this year’s Masters was inspired in part by Nicklaus, the first person to repeat at Augusta National.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Glover was the first person of color to fly around the Moon, Koch was the first woman, and Canadian Hansen the first non-American.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

“I was the first person to ever reach out to Shira,” he says proudly in a separate phone interview.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

"You're the first person besides me who's been able to see her," said Jeremy.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville