the first thing
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
The first item or action in a series
Literally: initial item
Register: neutral
Examples
But the first thing we say is "hello."Nhưng câu đầu tiên chúng ta nói là "xin chào."
Tatoeba sentence #53620 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR A2); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the first thing” mean?
The first item or action in a series Literally: initial item
Is “the first thing” formal or informal?
the first thing is generally neutral.