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first-rate

[ furst-reyt ]

/ ˈfɜrstˈreɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR first-rate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

excellent; superb.

of the highest rank, rate, or class.

adverb

very well.

Origin of first-rate

First recorded in 1660–70

Words nearby first-rate

first-name, first-nighter, first-order, first-past-the-post, first-person shooter, first-rate, first-sale doctrine, first-strike, first-string, first-termer, first-time

Example sentences from the Web for first-rate

Newsday: “Thoroughly researched, written with intelligence, sympathy and grace, it is a model of first-rate literary biography.”

The Best Biographies of 2014 (So Far) |Scott Porch |July 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Yellen, many believe, is the perfect choice, a first-rate academic whose sense of timing is exquisite and nuanced.

Janet Yellen Won’t Change the Fed |Russ Roberts |October 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
You can have a first-rate mind, but if the neurology is skewed, the thinking will also be skewed.

Autism and Child Pornography: A Toxic Combination |Eustacia Cutler |August 5, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Elementary is first-rate American television in what is being called the “procedural” tradition.

‘Elementary’ vs. ‘Sherlock’: Why There’s Room for More Than One Holmes |Allen Barra |November 29, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

He has had chores, he knows how to cook, how to iron, how to be a first-rate gardening assistant, and much more.

10 Books for My Son the Graduate |Roxanne Coady |June 5, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Commercially this was of first-rate importance, while politically it counterbalanced the alliance of the Bourbon courts.

The Political History of England - Vol. X. |William Hunt
Just when a fellow expects to have a first-rate time, she puts up something that knocks it out.

Dorothy Dale's Camping Days |Margaret Penrose
The Russians might as well attempt to suspend a first-rate line-of-battle ship with all its guns and stores.

With the World's Great Travellers, Volume IV |Various
So few people were civilised, and they, like the first-rate works of art, were mostly French.

Crome Yellow |Aldous Huxley
A "square" meal is his usual phrase for a full or first-rate one.

Across America |James F. Rusling

British Dictionary definitions for first-rate

first-rate

adjective

of the best or highest rated class or quality

informal very good; excellent

adverb

not standard very well; excellently