first mortgage

American  

noun

1. a mortgage having priority over other mortgages on property.

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first mortgage British  

noun

1. a mortgage that has priority over other mortgages on the same property, except for taxation and other statutory liabilities

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Other Word Forms

• first-mortgage
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of first mortgage

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first mortgage

The Halifax was founded in West Yorkshire in 1853, granting its first mortgage the same year, before growing to become one of the UK's largest building societies.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

We were lucky enough to close on our first mortgage with a 2.75% interest rate.

From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2024

But before they made their first mortgage payment, a massive landslide upended life on Peartree Lane, pulling eight neighbors’ homes down a nearby canyon and pushing others into different levels of structural purgatory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2023

In the Miami area, Pastor Carlos Mendez and his wife, Lisset Garcia, signed a modification on their first mortgage in 2012, after financial hardships resulted in missed payments and a bankruptcy filing.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2022

Already Mr. Henson had called about our late house payment on the first mortgage.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals