Synonyms

foremost

American

[fawr-mohst, -muhst, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌmoʊst, -məst, ˈfoʊr- /

adjective

first in place, order, rank, etc..

the foremost surgeons.

Synonyms:

paramount, principal, chief, prime, primary

foremost British

/ ˈfɔːˌməʊst /

adjective

first in time, place, rank, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

foremost Idioms

see first and foremost.

Etymology

Origin of foremost

before 1000; fore ¹ + -most; replacing Middle English, Old English formest, equivalent to form ( a ) first, variant of fruma (compare Latin prīmus ) + -est -est ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Though first and foremost a seminarian, Khamenei read widely and kept varied company.

From The Wall Street Journal

A former Treasury Secretary and one of the foremost economists of his era, Summers had already stepped back from duties at Harvard and several other organizations including the New York Times, Bloomberg and OpenAI.

From The Wall Street Journal

"He's a great person, first and foremost, off the field. He's very dedicated and passionate about rugby and the Brumbies," Larkham said of Slipper in announcing his team late Wednesday.

From Barron's

He is tasked, first and foremost, with easing Tottenham's relegation fears, after a 2-1 loss to Newcastle in Thomas Frank's final match on Tuesday left them five points above the bottom three.

From BBC

In it, he says: "I am not a Hindu, I am not a Muslim, I am not a Sikh, I am not a Christian. First and foremost, I am a human being."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023