first reading

American  

noun

Parliamentary Procedure.

1. the reading of a bill when it is first introduced in a legislative body.

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first reading British  

noun

1. the introduction of a bill in a legislative assembly

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Etymology

Origin of first reading

First recorded in 1695–1705

Example Sentences

Especially if decades, not just years, have passed between one’s first reading and the next; when the reader can’t help but wonder: Is this even the same book?

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2026

I devoured it on first reading but I just can’t surrender it to the shelf yet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

The National Security Committee approved the amendment to the penal code, which will now be passed onto the parliament for its first reading.

From Barron's • Nov. 3, 2025

"Once they heard the first reading in rehearsal," recalled Scales, "they were sold on the idea."

From BBC • Oct. 28, 2025

“This is where the first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation took place in the South,” I’d tell the girls in a voice I’d lower to a whisper to reflect my reverence of the place.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson