Meanings
phrase
alternative first come, first serve
- idiomaticOne will be dealt with in the order in which one arrives.
This complicated situation means that strategically managing services through the central Manchester area and beyond is not possible for signallers in the Greater Manchester area, and trains are invariably dealt with on a 'first come, first served' basis.
2020 January 2, Philip Haigh, “Is there relief to congestion along Castlefield Corridor?”, in Rail, page 22
adjectivefirst come, first served (not comparable)
alternative first come, first serve
- alternativenot comparableAlternative spelling of first-come-first-served.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 先到先得, 先到者，先招待
- 先到先得 (xiāndàoxiāndé)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- 先到者，先招待 (xiān dào zhě, xiān zhāodài)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- 先到先招待 (xiān dào xiān zhāodài)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Czech kdo dřív přijde, ten dřív mele
- kdo dřív přijde, ten dřív melepeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Danish den, der kommer først til mølle, får først malet
- den, der kommer først til mølle, får først maletpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Dutch wie het eerst komt, het eerst maalt, wie het eerst komt, die het eerst maalt
- wie het eerst komt, het eerst maaltpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- wie het eerst komt, die het eerst maaltpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Esperanto unua venis, unua prenis
- unua venis, unua prenispeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Finnish ensiksi tullutta palvellaan ensin
- ensiksi tullutta palvellaan ensinpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
French premier arrivé, premier servi
- premier arrivé, premier servipeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
German wer zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerst
- wer zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerstpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Hebrew זכות ראשונים
- זכות ראשוניםpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Icelandic fyrstur kemur, fyrstur fær
- fyrstur kemur, fyrstur færpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Indonesian siapa cepat, dia dapat
- siapa cepat, dia dapatpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Italian chi prima arriva meglio alloggia
- chi prima arriva meglio alloggiapeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Japanese 先着順
- 先着順 (senchakujun)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Korean 선착순
- 선착순 (seonchaksun)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Norwegian Bokmål den som kommer først til mølla, får først malt, førstemann til mølla
- den som kommer først til mølla, får først maltpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- førstemann til møllapeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Polish kto pierwszy, ten lepszy
- kto pierwszy, ten lepszypeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Portuguese primeiro a chegar, primeiro a ser atendido
- primeiro a chegar, primeiro a ser atendidopeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Romanian primul venit, primul servit
- primul venit, primul servitpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Russian в поря́дке поступле́ния, в поря́дке живо́й о́череди
- в поря́дке поступле́ния (v porjádke postuplénija)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- в поря́дке живо́й о́череди (v porjádke živój óčeredi)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- поздний гость гложет и кость (pozdnij gostʹ gložet i kostʹ)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- кто успел, тот и съел (kto uspel, tot i sʺjel)people will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Spanish por orden de llegada
- por orden de llegadapeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Swedish först till kvarn, först till kvarn får först mala
- först till kvarnpeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
- först till kvarn får först malapeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Welsh cyntaf i’r felin a gaiff falu
- cyntaf i’r felin a gaiff falupeople will be dealt with in the order they arrive
Cite this entry
APA
first come, first served. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20come%2C%20first%20served
MLA
“first come, first served.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20come%2C%20first%20served. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “first come, first served,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20come%2C%20first%20served.
Source: first come, first served on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.