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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Achievement First 8th Grade IA 1 Words
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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.
Beyond the winning, Guerra cited Shohei Ohtani as a driving force behind the Dodgers’ popularity, and not just as a tourist attraction, merchandise driver, and the foremost product endorser in sports.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
This perpetual instability likely led many Israelis, perhaps first and foremost Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to believe that the regime was more brittle than it actually was.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
First and foremost it must hold the lows of Monday’s session, where it recorded a bullish engulfing candle.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
“It shows them, first and foremost, that you are interested and you are prepared.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
Indeed, it is the same figure provided by Las Casas, patron saint of High Counters, foremost among the old Spanish sources whose estimates Henige spends many pages discounting.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
