women and children first

phrase

An exhortation to follow the principle of removing women and children from danger before men.

Opposite
every man for himself
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

phrase
  1. An exhortation to follow the principle of removing women and children from danger before men.

    Antonyms: every man for himself

Synonyms & antonyms

phraseAn exhortation to follow the principle of removing women and children from danger before men.

Opposite
every man for himself

Origin

The earliest known usage of this phrase is from 1912, when RMS Titanic was sinking.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 女人孩子先走
  • 女人孩子先走 (nǚrén háizi xiān zǒu)exhortation
Dutch vrouwen en kinderen eerst
  • vrouwen en kinderen eerstexhortation
Esperanto sinjorinoj kaj geinfanoj unue
  • sinjorinoj kaj geinfanoj unueexhortation
Finnish naiset ja lapset ensin
  • naiset ja lapset ensinexhortation
French les femmes et les enfants d’abord
  • les femmes et les enfants d’abordexhortation
German Frauen und Kinder zuerst
  • Frauen und Kinder zuerstexhortation
Polish najpierw kobiety i dzieci, kobiety i dzieci przodem
  • najpierw kobiety i dzieciexhortation
  • kobiety i dzieci przodemexhortation
Portuguese mulheres e crianças primeiro
  • mulheres e crianças primeiroexhortation
Cite this entry
APA

women and children first. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/women%20and%20children%20first

MLA

“women and children first.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/women%20and%20children%20first. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “women and children first,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/women%20and%20children%20first.

Source: women and children first on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.