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• first-string
  first-string

  adjective

  composed of regular members, participants, etc. (distinguished from substitute).
• first string
  first string

  noun

  the top player of a team in an individual sport, such as squash

first-string

American  

[furst-string] / ˈfɜrstˈstrɪŋ /

adjective

1. composed of regular members, participants, etc. (distinguished from substitute).

   the first-string team.

2. foremost; main.

   the first-string critics.

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first string British  

noun

1. the top player of a team in an individual sport, such as squash

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adjective

1. being a regular member of a team rather than a substitute or reserve

2. being the top player of a team in an individual sport

3. of high rating; first-class

Other Word Forms

• first-stringer
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of first-string

First recorded in 1915–20

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first-string first string

And this fall, he has been locked in a battle with Penn State transfer Beau Pribula, jockeying for first-string signal-caller duties at an SEC program coming off a 10-win season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025

At the end of Week 15 of the NFL season, 18 teams had started quarterbacks who weren’t their first-string passers on opening day; 56 different quarterbacks have started an NFL game this season.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 2023

Moreover, regardless of the score, the first-string players almost always remain on the field.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023

Tucker will wrap up spring practice Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium, where fans will watch a 15-period practice that will include first-string offensive players scrimmaging against the team’s top defense.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 14, 2023

The players ran at full strength under the angry glaze of the lights, the first-string offense and defense going against so-called scout teams simulating the offense and defense of the coming week’s opponent.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

By his mid-20s, Jones had signed a three-record deal with Decca Studios, sharing a label with The Rolling Stones and cutting his first string of hits.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025

Washington’s backups contributed to those numbers, but the first string wasn’t good.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 6, 2022

Smythies says he was here in May 2019, when the first string of 60 Starlink satellites blazed across the sky.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 6, 2021

Jose Altuve went 2 for 5 and extended his hitting streak to 12 games, his first string of 12 or more games since a career-best 19-game hitting streak in 2017.

From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2021

I wait four days and then go back to the first string of traps.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

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