first-person

1 of 2

adjective

first-per·​son ˈfərs(t)-ˈpər-sᵊn 

variants or less commonly first person

1

: of, relating to, or occurring in the first person

a first-person narrative

a first-person verb form

2

: experienced as if through the eyes of an avatar (as in a video game)

As 3-D first-person games evolved, … visual verisimilitude improved …

—Ian Bogost

When playing as the lead guitarist in first person mode players will see fans react to how they play.

—Sean Michael

see also first-person shooter

first person

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a set of linguistic forms (such as verb forms, pronouns, and inflectional affixes) referring to the speaker or writer of the utterance in which they occur

b

: a linguistic form belonging to such a set

c

: reference of a linguistic form to the speaker or writer of the utterance in which it occurs

2

: a style of discourse marked by general use of verbs and pronouns of the first person

Examples of first-person in a Sentence

Noun

She always wrote in the first person.

The sentence “I was born in Maine” is written in the first person.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Those details came from first-person interviews, court documents, Navy records and a massive trove of prosecution files, among other sources. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2024

But the muted, genteel tone of the novel’s opening section continues into this exciting new American era, via the first-person voice of Katherine Taylor, Nick and Bet’s daughter, now in her early 20s. —Kate Christensen, New York Times, 11 May 2024

Griffin’s supportiveness stands in contrast to some of the other characters encountered in his first-person essay. —Amanda Yeager, Baltimore Sun, 9 May 2024

Portraying Tubman was Annette Hubbell, an author and actress who depicts historical figures in a unique way — alone on stage through first-person accounts of their lives. —Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2024

In a first-person tell-all article in Rolling Stone last year, Evans said Daniels emailed, texted and ultimately called her from Trump’s suite asking her to come over and join them. —Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024

For comparison, the decade-old first-person shooter managed a steady 90fps at 720p on the Steam Deck OLED. —PCMAG, 10 May 2024

The docu combines secret investigative recordings, vérité footage and emotional first-person video to tell her story, which would become a landmark case in Japan. —Addie Morfoot, Variety, 9 May 2024

The absurdist, existential tone of the dialog was a hilarious counterpoint to (and commentary on) the run-and-gun gameplay of the first-person shooter used to create it. —Chris Baker, WIRED, 7 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1751, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

first person

noun

1

: a set of words or forms (as pronouns or verb forms) referring to the person speaking or writing them

2

: a writing style making use of pronouns and verbs of the first person

first person narration