discovered or determined by scientific observation; "variation in the ascertained flux depends on a number of factors"; "the discovered behavior norms"; "discovered differences in achievement"; "no explanation for the observed phenomena"
(comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early; "a fashion popular in earlier times"; "his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher"; "Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera"
earlier in time; previously; "I had known her before"; "as I said before"; "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier"
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"
(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"
endorsed authoritatively as having met certain requirements; "a certified public accountant"
holding appropriate documentation and officially on record as qualified to perform a specified function or practice a specified skill; "a registered pharmacist"; "a registered hospital"
having quality or payment or delivery guaranteed; "certified milk"; "certified check"; "certified mail"