in the first place
Idioms-
From the beginning, at the outset, before anything else. For example, Why didn't you tell me in the first place that you've decided to leave? or He could have bought a new one in the first place .
-
As the first of several items in order of importance. This phrase is usually accompanied by in the second place, third place , and so on, as in I'm not joining the health club because, in the first place, I don't like their hours, and in the second place, I can't afford the dues . [First half of 1600s] Also see for one .
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.
Retailers’ quest to drive down returns could wind up discouraging shoppers from buying in the first place.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The reason is that in the eyes of the law, the brothers had no right to buy this land in the first place.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
If anything like the present product, it would have to have been a very particular kind of comedy — something like “30 Rock,” whose beats were borrowed from cartoons in the first place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
She said: "I can't really afford to move out. I can't afford to save anything, so everything I earn, which is very little in the first place, is going on my baby."
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
And he didn’t know who to call in the first place.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
