in the first place
phrase
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
The history in Kaskaskia is as rich as the soil that attracted settlers in the first place and made it, for a time, Illinois’ most important place.
—
Andrew Carter,
Chicago Tribune,
5 July 2026
Two lots of dog food not only have been pulled this week in a not-food-in-your-food recall, but the manufacturer claims theft put them on store shelves in the first place.
—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
4 July 2026
Those people might be on the street or at the next table or just do things that suggest someone who had taken to the very close-quarter casual vibe that presumably is why someone would want to live here in the first place.
—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
3 July 2026
Whether that’s just piggybacking on the R&D funding that created the internet in the first place, or the GPS constellations that were required for Zip2, his first city directory.
—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
3 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for in the first place
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Andrew Carter,
Chicago Tribune,
5 July 2026
Two lots of dog food not only have been pulled this week in a not-food-in-your-food recall, but the manufacturer claims theft put them on store shelves in the first place.
—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
4 July 2026
Those people might be on the street or at the next table or just do things that suggest someone who had taken to the very close-quarter casual vibe that presumably is why someone would want to live here in the first place.
—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
3 July 2026
Whether that’s just piggybacking on the R&D funding that created the internet in the first place, or the GPS constellations that were required for Zip2, his first city directory.
—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
3 July 2026
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 5 Jul. 2026.
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