firsthand

American  

[furst-hand] / ˈfɜrstˈhænd /

Or first-hand

adverb

1. from the first or original source.

   We heard the news of the accident firsthand from a witness.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the first or original source.

2. direct from the original source.

   firsthand knowledge of the riot.

Etymology

Origin of firsthand

First recorded in 1690–1700; first + hand

Explanation

Anything firsthand is directly experienced, so your firsthand knowledge of the new math teacher's purple hair comes from the fact that you've seen it with your very own eyes. When you get information from someone who saw something happen or heard something said, that's firsthand evidence. And anything you see or hear yourself is also firsthand. Your summer job might be a firsthand look at what farming is really like. Interviewing a witness to a crime gives a police officer firsthand testimony about what exactly happened. This word, coined around 1690, comes from the idea that the maker of something is its first hand.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

firsthand

He has firsthand experience, he says, with the health consequences of living next to an oil production site.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

One can’t possibly grasp the closeness two people share until they’ve experienced firsthand the joy and indescribable pain that come with the kind of enmeshment written in fate’s codex.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

High-school financial-literacy teachers see that proactive mindset firsthand in their classrooms.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

This is not currently happening in the U.S., but since it has devastated other countries, I was eager to speak with someone who had experienced that worst-case scenario firsthand.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

But I got to see firsthand how the experts did it, with Frank looking over my shoulder, giving guidance the whole way.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge