first of all

adverb

Firstly; before anything else.

Similar
firstfirstlyfirst upforemostfirst off
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Meanings

adverbfirst of all (not comparable)
  1. idiomaticnot comparablesequenceFirstly; before anything else.

    Be strong, live happie, and love, but first of all / Him whom to love is to obey, and keep / His great command; […]

    1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 1271–1272
    2 more examples

    "My dear sir," said Hube in an authoritative manner to the receptionist askancing Thales, "first of all, we aren't tourists. Secondly, this isn't a rat, this is the present embodiment of the spiritual leader of millions of people in India […]

    1997, Tibor Fischer, The Thought Gang, page 185

    "I must say, I quite enjoy having the best detective in the business, and the fastest gun in the West, on my payroll." "First of all," Clint said tightly, "I'm not the fastest gun in the West, and second, I'm not on your payroll." Royce held up both of his hands. "I didn't mean to offend you, sir[…]"

    2019, J.R. Roberts, Death in Denver, Speaking Volumes, →ISBN

    Synonyms: first, firstly, first up

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbFirstly; before anything else.

Similar
firstfirstlyfirst up

More synonyms by meaning

adverbbefore anything else

Similar
firstfirstlyforemostfirst off
Also see
firstfirstlyfirst offfirst upforemostfor one

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Arabic أَوَّلًا, قَبْلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
  • أَوَّلًا (ʔawwalan)before anything else
  • قَبْلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ (qabla kulli šayʔin)before anything else
  • بَادِئَ ذِي بَدْءٍ (bādiʔa ḏī badʔin)before anything else
Chinese Mandarin 首先
  • 首先 (shǒuxiān)before anything else
Dutch in de eerste plaats, bovenal
  • in de eerste plaatsbefore anything else
  • bovenalbefore anything else
  • om te beginnenbefore anything else
  • ten eerstebefore anything else
Finnish ensiksi, ennen muuta
  • ensiksibefore anything else
  • ennen muutabefore anything else
French tout d’abord, en premier lieu
  • tout d’abordbefore anything else
  • en premier lieubefore anything else
  • avant toutes chosesbefore anything else
German zunächst, zuallererst
  • zunächstbefore anything else
  • zuallererstbefore anything else
Greek πρώτα απ’ όλα
  • πρώτα απ’ όλα (próta ap’ óla)before anything else
Hebrew קודם כל
  • קודם כלbefore anything else
Hindi प्रथमतः
  • प्रथमतः (prathamtaḥ)before anything else
Hungarian elsősorban, mindenekelőtt
  • elsősorbanbefore anything else
  • mindenekelőttbefore anything else
Italian innanzitutto, prima di tutto
  • innanzituttobefore anything else
  • prima di tuttobefore anything else
  • per prima cosabefore anything else
  • come prima cosabefore anything else
  • primariamentebefore anything else
  • in primo luogobefore anything else
  • anzituttobefore anything else
  • in primisbefore anything else
Japanese 先ず
  • 先ず (mazu)before anything else
Korean 우선
  • 우선 (useon)before anything else
Polish przede wszystkim, najpierw
  • przede wszystkimbefore anything else
  • najpierwbefore anything else
  • po pierwszebefore anything else
Portuguese primeiro de tudo, antes de mais nada
  • primeiro de tudobefore anything else
  • antes de mais nadabefore anything else
  • antes de tudobefore anything else
  • em primeiro lugarbefore anything else
Romanian întâi, mai întâi
  • întâibefore anything else
  • mai întâibefore anything else
  • înainte de toatebefore anything else
Russian пре́жде всего́
  • пре́жде всего́ (préžde vsevó)before anything else
Spanish en primer lugar, ante todo
  • en primer lugarbefore anything else
  • ante todobefore anything else
  • antes que nadabefore anything else
  • antes de nadabefore anything else
  • antes de todobefore anything else
  • antes que todobefore anything else
  • para empezarbefore anything else
Tagalog una sa lahat
  • una sa lahatbefore anything else
Tamil முதலில்
  • முதலில் (mutalil)before anything else
Ukrainian перш за все, передусім
  • перш за все (perš za vse)before anything else
  • передусім (peredusim)before anything else
Vietnamese trước hết, trước nhất
  • trước hếtbefore anything else
  • trước nhấtbefore anything else
  • trước tiênbefore anything else
Cite this entry
APA

first of all. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20of%20all

MLA

“first of all.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20of%20all. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “first of all,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first%20of%20all.

Source: first of all on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.