first among equals
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Having the highest status in a group.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
There is good reason for this; at its best, the teaching situation takes on much of the character of the research process, with an open dialogue between the students and teacher, the teacher being the first among equals.
The clerk was regarded as ‘ first among equals’ by the other chief officers, but the co - ordination of services was at a minimum and sometimes non - existent.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “first among equals” mean?
Having the highest status in a group.
Is “first among equals” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.