n. a turning force produced by an object acting at a distance (or a measure of that force)

n. the n-th moment of a distribution is the expected value of the n-th power of the deviations from a fixed value

n. an honours degree of the highest class

n. the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first"

n. the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first of the bases in the infield (counting counterclockwise from home plate)

n. at this time; "the disappointments of the here and now"; "she is studying at the moment"

n. having important effects or influence; "decisions of great consequence are made by the president himself"; "virtue is of more moment than security"; "that result is of no consequence"

n. a particular point in time; "the moment he arrived the party began"

n. an indefinitely short time; "wait just a moment"; "in a mo"; "it only takes a minute"; "in just a bit"

n. the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving

n. the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her"

adv. before another in time, space, or importance; "I was here first"; "let's do this job first"

adv. the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake"

adv. prominently forward; "he put his best foot foremost"

adv. before anything else; "first we must consider the garter snake"

adj. highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections; "first soprano"; "the first violin section"; "played first horn"

adj. 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"

adj. indicating the beginning unit in a series

adj. serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse"

adj. being the gear producing the lowest drive speed; "use first gear on steep hills"

adj. ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate"

adj. serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage"

n. the quality of being important and worthy of note; "the importance of a well-balanced diet"

n. the relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a society; "he had the status of a minor"; "the novel attained the status of a classic"; "atheists do not enjoy a favorable position in American life"

n. relative importance; "a problem of the first magnitude"

n. the quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable; "the Shakespearean Shylock is of dubious value in the modern world"

n. the quality that renders something desirable or valuable or useful

n. high status importance owing to marked superiority; "a scholar of great eminence"

n. relative importance

n. the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed

n. the relative importance granted to something; "his opinion carries great weight"; "the progression implied an increasing weightiness of the items listed"

n. the end or completion of something; "death put a period to his endeavors"; "a change soon put a period to my tranquility"

n. a special and memorable period; "it was their finest hour"

n. a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field; "he celebrated his 10th season with the ballet company"; "she always looked forward to the avocado season"

n. the end or completion of something; "death put a period to his endeavors"; "a change soon put a period to my tranquility"

n. the beginning or early stages; "the onset of pneumonia"

n. the event consisting of the start of something; "the beginning of the war"

n. the production of heat or electricity; "dams were built for the generation of electricity"

n. the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new; "she looked forward to her initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new scientific society"

n. an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events

n. the early stage of growth or development

n. the first light of day; "we got up before dawn"; "they talked until morning"

adv. of primary import; "this is primarily a question of economics"; "it was in the first place a local matter"

adv. for the most part; "he is mainly interested in butterflies"

adv. at the beginning; "at first he didn't notice anything strange"

adj. necessary or important, especially regarding food or commodities; "wheat is a staple crop"

adj. serving as an essential component; "a cardinal rule"; "the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure"

adj. (used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held; "deep-rooted prejudice"; "deep-seated differences of opinion"; "implanted convictions"; "ingrained habits of a lifetime"; "a deeply planted need"

adj. most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch"

adj. having an orbit farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit; "Mars and Jupiter are the closest in of the superior planets"

adj. having superior power and influence; "the predominant mood among policy-makers is optimism"

adj. greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement; "our greatest statesmen"; "the country's leading poet"; "a preeminent archeologist"

adj. highest in excellence or achievement; "supreme among musicians"; "a supreme endxxeavor"; "supreme courage"

adj. serving as an introduction or preface

adj. denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important; designed to orient or acquaint with a situation before proceeding; "a preliminary investigation"

adj. serving or intended to explain or make clear; "explanatory notes"; "an explanatory paragraph"

adj. preceding all others in time; "the premiere showing"

adj. serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage"

adj. serving to open or begin; "began the slide show with some introductory remarks"

adj. appropriate to the beginning or start of an event; "the starting point"; "hands in the starting position"

adj. having the second highest gear ratio; "second gear"

adj. holding first place in a contest; "a champion show dog"; "a prizewinning wine"

adj. surpassing in quality; "top-grade ore"

adj. used of clothing; "my good clothes"; "her Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes"

adj. highest in quality

adj. of greatest advantage or suitability

adj. most desirable possible under a restriction expressed or implied; "an optimum return on capital"; "optimal concentration of a drug"

adj. best of its kind on record: "in record time"

adj. surpassing any previously established record; "a record-breaking high jump"; "record-breaking crowds"

adj. next to the best; "his second-best bed"

adj. (used especially of merchandise) very fine in quality; "made of superfine Flemish cloth"

adj. not capable of being improved on

adj. serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse"

adj. serving to open or begin; "began the slide show with some introductory remarks"

adj. appropriate to the beginning or start of an event; "the starting point"; "hands in the starting position"

n. having no important effects or influence

n. the quality of having little or no significance

n. time between the beginning and the end of a temporal period; "the middle of the war"; "rain during the middle of April"

n. the point in time at which something ends; "the end of the year"; "the ending of warranty period"

n. a coming to an end of a contract period; "the expiry of his driver's license"

adj. a part or voice or instrument or orchestra section lower in pitch than or subordinate to the first; "second flute"; "the second violins"

adj. coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining; "the last time I saw Paris"; "the last day of the month"; "had the last word"; "waited until the last minute"; "he raised his voice in a last supreme call"; "the last game of the season"; "down to his last nickel"

adj. lying between two extremes in time or space or state; "going from sitting to standing without intermediate pushes with the hands"; "intermediate stages in a process"; "intermediate stops on the route"; "an intermediate range plane"

adj. being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate; "the stone will be hauled to a secondary crusher"; "a secondary source"; "a secondary issue"; "secondary streams"

adj. functioning in a supporting capacity; "the main library and its auxiliary branches"