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first class

first class

53 3.4
The most comfortable and expensive seats on a plane, train, or ship
  • noun
  • /fɜrst klæs/
translation icon : primera clase
  • "You always travel first class, Victoria," I heard Grandmother Hudson remind her.
  • first-class passengers

You chose to fly regular class instead of first class.

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Examples

  • After scoring a promotion, he treated himself to a first class ticket for his trip to New York.

  • You were sitting in first class, right?

    United 93 (2006)

  • Once you fly first class, it conditions your mind to look and think for first class opportunities.

  • I made the decision to get first class tickets for the adults in the group.

  • Fifty bucks says he was flying first class.

    Blue Crush 2 (2011)

  • My wife and I flew first class to Greece.

    Tower Heist (2011)

  • No, she was here at a first-class hotel, and she felt totally at ease.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I opened it up and realized it was a first-class round-trip ticket in my name.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The ship had the capacity for 164 first-class passengers and 40 second-class passengers.

    Academic text (2010)

  • She decided to upgrade to first class for her flight to Paris because of the extra comfort and service.

Synonyms

first-class
vsfirst class
49 3.4

Of the highest quality and very good

is a specific luxury travel accommodation category rather than a general quality label

Antonyms

economy class
3 2.0

The cheapest seats on a plane, train, or ship with basic services

How Luxurious

first class
53 3.4

Surface Forms

first class singular
first classes plural

Morphology

first + class

The meaning 'the highest rank or grade' is directly and compositionally derived from 'first' (preceding/all-important) + 'class' (a category or rank). This adj+noun grading pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows normal English composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

First class The noun first class comes from travel, where people were put into groups called class and the top group was called first. Those seats were the most comfortable, so first class now means the most luxurious accommodation.