How to Use on a first-name basis in a Sentence

on a first-name basis

idiom
  • In fact, many of them are now on a first-name basis with him.
    Shirley MacFarland, cleveland, 4 Feb. 2022
  • Diana wasn’t just on a first-name basis with the world.
    Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2022
  • Grimes and her 16-month-old son, X Æ A-Xii, are on a first-name basis.
    Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 18 Sep. 2021
  • And when heads of state came to Capitol Hill, many were on a first-name basis with Biden.
    Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY, 20 Nov. 2020
  • Despite being on a first-name basis with their car, the three friends couldn’t get inside.
    Sarah Donaldson, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2022
  • Copeland left Saban’s office years ago on a first-name basis.
    Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 14 Sep. 2021
  • Most folks in the good old days shopped from a preferred store and were on a first-name basis with the store owners, checkout clerks and even the security guards.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes, 6 June 2022
  • The cafe had only been opened a few months when the pandemic hit and Canadians who were just getting to know the staff on a first-name basis fled home.
    Lisa J. Huriash, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Nov. 2021
  • Outreach teams and case managers who regularly visit the area know many there on a first-name basis.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Butler, 42, was born in small-town Magnolia, Miss. — also the birthplace of Britney Spears’ mom — in a family that knew hardship on a first-name basis.
    Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2021
  • Her high-octane persona is legendary among diplomats in Morocco and researchers worldwide – from America to Israel and across the Arab world – who know her on a first-name basis.
    Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 June 2020
  • The 61-year-old custodian had been cleaning bathrooms, classrooms, labs and offices there for more than two decades, and was on a first-name basis with many of the psychology professors and staff who worked there.
    Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2022
  • The captains of the science club, the kids on a first-name basis with the school librarian, often spotted studying something, (even after homework was completed).
    Laurel Donnellan, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2021
  • Disney’s government affairs staff is on a first-name basis with most of the state’s powerful lawmakers and has a direct line to the governor’s office, lawmakers said.
    Robbie Whelan, WSJ, 27 Apr. 2022
  • Between them, McLarty and Rutherford seemingly are on a first-name basis with everyone in Arkansas.
    Rex Nelson, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2020
  • Malley, who deliberates with the intensity of a lawyer but is soft-spoken in person, was on a first-name basis with his Iranian counterparts.
    Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2021
  • The decision was centered on her grandmother, who has dementia and whose mental state is quickly declining, said Emily, who agreed to speak only on a first-name basis so that her friends wouldn’t find out about her plans.
    Marisa Iati, Star Tribune, 8 Nov. 2020
  • There was a time when there were so few of us associated with Republican candidates in Arkansas that everyone knew each other on a first-name basis.
    Rex Nelson, Arkansas Online, 15 May 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on a first-name basis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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