the first time in history
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
an event that has never happened before
Literally: the initial occurrence in the past
Register: neutral
Examples
This is the first time in history that a private company has launched a spacecraft.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
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 time in history” mean?
an event that has never happened before Literally: the initial occurrence in the past
Is “the first time in history” formal or informal?
the first time in history is generally neutral.