come first

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

come first (third-person singular simple present comes first, present participle coming first, simple past came first, past participle come first)

1. (idiomatic) To win first place in a competition.

   Sally came first in the calligraphy competition.

2. (idiomatic) To be the most important thing to consider.

   Don't forget: safety comes first.

   • 1987 September 14, Rick Nowels, Ellen Shipley, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”, in Heaven on Earth‎^[1], performed by Belinda Carlisle:

     Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth? / Ooh, heaven is a place on Earth / They say in heaven, love comes first / We'll make heaven a place on Earth / Ooh, heaven is a place on Earth

Translations

win first place in competition

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 名列第一 (míngliè dì-yī)

• Finnish: voittaa (fi), tulla ensimmäiseksi
• French: (informal) arriver premier
• Russian: побежда́ть (ru) impf (pobeždátʹ), победи́ть (ru) pf (pobedítʹ), выи́грывать (ru) impf (vyígryvatʹ), вы́играть (ru) pf (výigratʹ)

be the most important thing to consider

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 放在首位 (fàng zài shǒuwèi), 第一 (zh) (dì-yī)

• Finnish: olla tärkeintä, olla ykkösasia, olla ykkönen
• French: primer (fr), (adverb) d’abord (fr), (adverb) avant tout (fr)
• Russian: пре́жде всего́ (ru) (préžde vsevó)