foremost
adjective /ˈfɔːməʊst/
/ˈfɔːrməʊst/
- the most important or famous; in a position at the front
- I'd like to introduce you to the world's foremost authority on the subject.
- The Prime Minister was foremost among those who condemned the violence.
- This question has been foremost in our minds recently.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryForemost is used with these nouns:- authority
- exponent
- poet
- …
Word OriginOld English formest, fyrmest, from forma ‘first’ (ultimately a superlative formed from the Germanic base of fore) + -est. Compare with first and former. The current spelling arose by association with fore and most.