definitions
  • synonyms

foremost

[ fawr-mohst, -muhst, fohr- ]
/ ˈfɔrˌmoʊst, -məst, ˈfoʊr- /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foremost ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, adverb

first in place, order, rank, etc.: the foremost surgeons.

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RELATED WORDS

arch, champion, chief, front, head, heavy, highest, initial, leading, original, paramount, preeminent, premier, primary, prime, principal, supreme, heavyweight, inaugural, A-1

Nearby words

forelock, foreman, foremast, forementioned, foremilk, foremost, foremother, forename, forenamed, forenoon, forenoon watch

Origin of foremost

before 1000; fore1 + -most; replacing Middle English, Old English formest, equivalent to form(a) first, variant of fruma (compare Latin prīmus) + -est -est1
SYNONYMS FOR foremost
primary, prime, chief, principal, paramount.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foremost ON THESAURUS.COM
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foremost

British Dictionary definitions for foremost

foremost

/ (ˈfɔːˌməʊst) /

adjective, adverb

first in time, place, rank, etc

Word Origin for foremost

Old English formest, from forma first; related to Old Saxon formo first, Old High German fruma advantage
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

Word Origin and History for foremost

foremost

adj.

Old English fyrmest "earliest, first, most prominent," from Proto-Germanic *formo- (related to Old English fruma "beginning"), superlative of the root of fore + additional superlative suffix -est. Cf. -most, and cf. also Old Frisian formest, Gothic frumists. Altered on the assumption that it is a compound of fore and most.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with foremost

foremost

see first and foremost.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.