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

See Examples For:

first person

Welsh actor Matthew Rhys described the "surreal and incredible feeling" after making history on Monday by becoming the first person to win two lead acting prizes in one night.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

It’s unclear exactly how they settled on diGenova who, at 81, might not be the first person to come to mind when thinking of candidates to lead a sprawling international investigation.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

The first person rolls everything into an individual retirement account, or IRA.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

She agreed in 2019 to take part in a pioneering Crispr-based clinical trial led by Dr. Haydar Frangoul and was the first person with SCD to receive the treatment that would eventually become Casgevy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Ekon was the first person in her life to suggest that she didn’t have to choose between her heart and her mind; he was the first person to like both parts of her.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray