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

It’s also been suggested that extremist can use AI to work out who is susceptible to radicalization in the first place by predicting who is likely to be sympathetic to their ideology. —Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

In an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris argued that the district judge did not have the power to grant reinstatement to thousands of probationary workers, and refuted that OPM had directed the firings in the first place. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2025

However, in the parental consent forms required to get the laptop in the first place, there was no mention whatsoever of any sort of remote tracking. —Barry Levitt, Time, 8 Apr. 2025

With injuries in attacking areas, midfielder Mikel Merino’s role as an auxiliary centre-forward remains far from ideal — but there has been a notable drop in Arsenal’s ability to craft opportunities in the first place this season. —Mark Carey, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

Rhymes for in the first place

• aromatase
• hydrogenase
• nitrogenase
• oligoclase
• oxygenase
• plagioclase
• polymerase
• streptokinase
• triphosphatase
• abase
• airspace
• apace