first and foremost


first and foremost

For starters; to begin. First and foremost, I want to thank all of you for being here tonight. I think we need to tackle that part of the problem first and foremost.See also: and, first, foremost

first and foremost

Cliché first to be dealt with and most important. First and foremost, I think you should work harder on your biology. Have this in mind first and foremost: Keep smiling!See also: and, first, foremost

first and foremost

Also, first of all. Most important, primarily; also, to begin with. For example, First and foremost, I want to thank our sponsors, or What we need, first and foremost, is a new secretary, or We have to deal, first of all, with the early history. The first term, dating from the late 1300s, is redundant, since first and foremost mean virtually the same thing. Both it and the variant, which dates from the mid-1500s, are used to give emphasis to the initial item in a list of several. Also see first off; first thing. See also: and, first, foremost

ˌfirst and ˈforemost

before everything else; most importantly: First and foremost, we must ensure that the children are safe. ♢ Don’t forget, he is first and foremost an actor, not a singer.See also: and, first, foremost

first and foremost

Most notable, most important. This tautological expression—first and foremost mean just about the same thing—has survived since the fifteenth century, when it was recorded in a work by William Caxton (1483). Deemed a cliché by the mid-nineteenth century, it is still popular with lecturers and others who like to enumerate the various points of their argument or elements of a list. See also: and, first, foremost