in the first place
idiom
1
—used at the end of a sentence to indicate what was true or what should have been done at the beginning of a situation
We should never have gone there in the first place.
I didn't care much for the job in the first place.
2
—used when listing the most important parts of something or the most important reasons for something
I'm not going to tell you because, in the first place, it's none of your business, and in the second place, you would tell everyone else.
Examples of in the first place in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This provides a powerful deterrent to such meritless litigation being brought against them in the first place.
—
Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
What may be even more dangerous, experts say, is the disinformation surrounding vaccines that drives people to want to take a supplement to detox from them in the first place.
—Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 June 2025
Nonprofits like his work to prevent it from happening in the first place.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 7 June 2025
Grygiel, however, warned the engagement over the spat is overall detrimental to the general public as other pressing issues, including Trump's budget cuts, which set off the feud in the first place.
—Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for in the first place
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Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
What may be even more dangerous, experts say, is the disinformation surrounding vaccines that drives people to want to take a supplement to detox from them in the first place.
—Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 June 2025
Nonprofits like his work to prevent it from happening in the first place.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 7 June 2025
Grygiel, however, warned the engagement over the spat is overall detrimental to the general public as other pressing issues, including Trump's budget cuts, which set off the feud in the first place.
—Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for in the first place
Cite this Entry
“In the first place.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20the%20first%20place. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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