foremost
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of foremost
before 1000; fore 1 + -most; replacing Middle English, Old English formest, equivalent to form ( a ) first, variant of fruma (compare Latin prīmus ) + -est -est 1
Explanation
Foremost is an adjective that means holding the highest position or rank. When naming advisors, presidents usually search for the foremost experts on various subjects. If you are the foremost in your profession, you're the expert people will seek out for an opinion. If your foremost concern in a project is money, all other factors are secondary. You can also use this word as an adverb meaning "before anything else." The film, Gone With the Wind, is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, but first and foremost, it is a love story.
Vocabulary lists containing foremost
Power Prefix: fore-
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The bonds are investment grade, first and foremost, so the risk of issuers defaulting is relatively low.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
But I am, first and foremost, a researcher, so I did the research into it.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
America has, Mr. Mandelbaum writes, “sought to disseminate” its values abroad, the foremost among them political, religious and economic liberty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
With LeBron we had a king shaping his fiefdom to first and foremost best serve him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
The height of the thing was but one element of its magnificence, and not even the foremost.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
