first thing

American  

[furst thing] / ˈfɜrst ˈθɪŋ /

adverb

1. right away, before all other actions, concerns, etc.; at the earliest opportunity.

---

noun

1. the first thing, the most basic piece of information.

first thing Idioms  

1. Before anything else; without delay. For example, Tom was supposed to call him first thing in the morning. [Late 1500s] Also see under first and foremost; first off.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first thing

“The first thing that was very hard is letting go of the people that you sold a dream to,” Aggarwal said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The first thing I do when I wake up is go get a lemon from the little lemon tree we have and squeeze it into some room-temperature water and drink it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Every time I go show a house with a buyer, in the kitchen, the first thing they’ll do is they’re opening doors and closing them,” he added.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

As soon as he woke up after surgery, the first thing he did was ask his wife to get him a KFC.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

“I would’ve thought that was the first thing you would want to know,” Doc said.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste