having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance; "her dignified demeanor"; "the director of the school was a dignified white-haired gentleman"
the first element in a countable series; "the first of the month"
the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first"
being the gear producing the lowest drive speed; "use first gear on steep hills"
ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate"
preceding all others in time or space or degree; "the first house on the right"; "the first day of spring"; "his first political race"; "her first baby"; "the first time"; "the first meetings of the new party"; "the first phase of his training"
highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections; "first soprano"; "the first violin section"; "played first horn"
indicating the beginning unit in a series
before anything else; "first we must consider the garter snake"
the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake"
before another in time, space, or importance; "I was here first"; "let's do this job first"
a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)
(computer science) a window for an active application
the part of a scene that is near the viewer
move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent; "The introduction highlighted the speaker's distinguished career in linguistics"; "highlight the passage so that you can find it again when you open the book"