/fɜ:st ||; fɝst/adv1 before any others 在他人之前: Sue arrived first at the party. 休最早到酒会。Mike's very competitive -- he always wants to come first when he plays a game. 迈克很有竞争精神──比赛时他总想拿第一。Do you want to go first or second? 你先去还是随后去？
2 before doing anything else 在做别的事情之前: I'll come out later. I've got to finish my homework first. 我等会儿出来。我得先把功课做完。
3 the time before all the other times; for the first time 首次；初次: Where did you first meet your husband? 你在哪儿初次认识你丈夫的？
4 at the beginning 最初；起初: When I first started my job I hated it. 起初我很不喜欢这份工作。
5 used for introducing the first thing in a list （用于列出第一项）: There are several people I would like to thank: First, my mother. 我要感谢几个人﹕第一，我的妈妈。 [SYN] firstly 同义词为firstly
at first at the beginning 最初；起初；当初:
At first I thought he was joking, but then I realized he was serious. 我最初以为他在开玩笑，后来才知道他是认真的。 come first to be more important to sb than anything else 最受重视:
Although she enjoys her job, her family has always come first. 虽然她很喜欢她的工作，但她始终以家庭为重。 first and foremost more than anything else; most importantly 最主要的；最重要的:
He worked in television but he was a stage actor first and foremost. 他在电视台工作，但最主要的职业是舞台演员。 first come, first served(
informal 非正式) people will be dealt with, served, seen, etc strictly in the order in which they arrive 先到者先受招待；先到先办；先到先得:
Tickets can be bought here on a first come, first served basis. 这儿的票按先来先买的规定出售。 first of all as the first thing (to be done or said) （要做或要说到的）第一件事；首先:
In a moment I'll introduce our guest speaker, but first of all, let me thank you all for coming. 我马上要介绍我们请来的讲演者，但首先我要感谢你们的光临。 first off(
informal 非正式) before anything else 首先:
First off, let's decide who does what. 首先，我们来决定谁做什么。 head first→
HEAD¹