in the first place Definition

first
adj

1. In counting: before all others; before the second and following ones.
2. Earliest in time or order; the starting object of a series of objects.

Thesaurus: initial, original, leading, head, opening, introductory.
3a. The first day of the month;

Form: the first
3b. golf.
The first hole.
Form: the first
4. The most important; foremost in importance.

Example: first prize
Thesaurus: uppermost, primary, principal, paramount, highest.
5. Basic; fundamental.

Example: first principles
6a. music.
Having the higher part;
Example: the first violins
6b. music.
Being the principal player.
Example: the first clarinet

adverb

1. Before anything or anyone else.

Thesaurus: in the beginning, at the outset, early on, to start with, to begin with, before all else, originally, beforehand, initially.
2. Foremost.

Example: got in feet first
3. Before doing anything else.

Example: first make sure of the facts
4. For the first time.

Example: since he first saw him
5. Preferably; rather.

Example: I'd die first
6. Firstly.

noun

1. A person or thing coming first, eg in a race or exam.
2. colloq
A first occurrence of something; something never done before
Example: That's a first for me!
3. The beginning; the start.

Example: from first to last
4. Denoting the first or lowest forward gear (sense 2) in a motor vehicle.

Example: She changed from first to second
(chiefly Brit)
5. education.
First-class honours in a university degree; a degree of the highest class.
Form: a first

Idiom: at first

At the start of something; early on in the course of something.

Idiom: at first hand

Directly from the original source.
Example: to obtain information at first hand

Idiom: first and last

Essentially; on the whole.

Idiom: first come, first served

Those who respond before others to an offer have priority over them.

Idiom: first thing

colloq
Early; before anything else; as the first action of the day.
Example: I'll do it first thing in the morning

Idiom: first things first

An expression suggesting that one should organize oneself by doing the most important things before other things.

Idiom: get to first base (make first base)

To complete the first stage of a process.

Idiom: in the first place

From the start; to begin with.
Example: He didn't want to go in the first place

Idiom: not have the first idea about something (not know the first thing about something)

colloq
To be completely ignorant about it; to know nothing about it.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon fyrest.

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place
noun

1. A portion of the Earth's surface, particularly one considered as a unit, such as an area, region, district, locality, etc.
2. A geographic area or position, such as a country, city, town, village, etc.

Thesaurus: position, location, point, spot, vicinity.
3. A building, room, piece of ground, etc, particularly one assigned to some purpose.

Example: place of business
Example: place of worship
4. colloq
One's home or lodging
Example: Let's go to my place.
5. Somewhere with a specified association or function.

Example: one's birthplace
Example: a hiding-place
6. A seat or space, eg at table.

Example: lay three places
7. A seat in a theatre, on a train, bus, etc.
8. An area on the surface of something, eg on the body.

Example: point to the sore place
9. The customary position of something or someone.

Example: put it back in its place
10. A point reached, eg in a conversation, narrative, series of developments, etc.

Example: a good place to stop
11. A point in a book, etc, especially where one stopped reading.

Example: made me lose my place
12. A position within an order eg of competitors in a contest, a set of priorities, etc.

Example: finished in third place
Example: lost his place in the queue
Example: lets her family take second place
13. Social or political rank.

Example: know one's place
Example: corruption in high places
14. A vacancy at an institution, on a committee, in a firm, etc.

Example: gain a university place
Thesaurus: job, position, office, post.
15. One's role, function, duty, etc.

Example: It's not my place to tell him
16. A useful role.

Example: There's a place for judicious lying
17a. An open square or a row of houses;

Example: the market place
17b. Used in street names.

Example: Buccleuch Place
Form: Place
18. math.
The position of a number in a series, especially of decimals after the point.

verb placed, placing

1. To put, position, etc in a particular place.

Thesaurus: put, plant, assign, lodge, stow, locate, settle, deposit, install, situate.
2. To submit.

Example: place an order
Example: place an advertisement
3. To find a place, home, job, publisher, etc for someone.

Example: The agency were able to place her immediately with a company
4. To assign final positions to (contestants, etc).

Example: was placed fourth
5. To identify or categorize.

Example: a familiar voice that I couldn't quite place
6. commerce.
To find a buyer for (stocks or shares, usually a large quantity of them).
7. To arrange (a bet, loan, etc).
(especially N Amer)
intr
8. To finish a race or competition (in a specified position or, if unspecified, in second position)

Example: The favourite placed third.

Idiom: all over the place

In disorder or confusion.

Idiom: be placed

To finish as one of the first three or, in some races, the first four.

To be in a position to do something.
Example: was well placed to influence the decision

Idiom: fall into place

To become clear; to make sense.

Idiom: give place to someone or something

To make way for or yield to them.

Idiom: go places

To travel.

To be successful.
Thesaurus: succeed, achieve, advance, get ahead, get somewhere, move up.

Idiom: in place

In the correct position.

Idiom: in place of something or someone

Instead of it or them.

Idiom: in the first place

In any event; anyway.
Example: I never liked it in the first place

Idiom: in the first place (in the second etc place)

Used to introduce successive points.

Idiom: in places

Here and there.

Idiom: in your etc place

If I were you etc.

Idiom: know one's place

To show proper subservience (to someone, an organization, etc).

Idiom: lose one's place

To falter in following a text, etc; not to know what point has been reached.

Idiom: lose the place

colloq
To become angry.

Idiom: out of place

Not in the correct position.

Inappropriate.

Idiom: put someone in their place (keep someone in their place)

To humble them as they deserve because of their arrogance, conceit, etc.
Thesaurus: humble, humiliate, reprimand, derogate, take someone down a peg or two.

Idiom: take one's place

To assume one's usual or rightful position.

Idiom: take place

To happen, occur, be held, etc.
Example: the ceremony takes place next week in London

Idiom: take the place of someone or something

To replace or supersede them.

Etymology: 13c: from Anglo-Saxon plæce and French place an open place or street.