This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
first principle
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
any axiom, law, or abstraction assumed and regarded as representing the highest possible degree of generalization.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Words nearby first principle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use first principle in a sentence
He questions every assumption in order to drill down to the first principles of physics.
Still, preliminary evidence and some scientific first principles suggest that mixing vaccine technologies may give a stronger response.
Revisiting The Life You Can Save offered more than just a refresher course on Singer’s argument — it felt like rediscovering first principles.
British Dictionary definitions for first principle
first principle
noun (usually plural)
one of the fundamental assumptions on which a particular theory or procedure is thought to be based
an axiom of a mathematical or scientific theory
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