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first place

first place

343 2.1
The top position in a competition or race
  • noun
  • /fɜrst pleɪs/
translation icon : primer puesto
  • Winning first place at the debate competition boosted his confidence significantly.
  • win first place
  • first place winner
  • a first place award

That is the difference between first place and not even placing.

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Examples

  • Tessa and Evelyn competed as a team in two of the races, claiming first place in both.

  • Congratulations, Elvis, you have won first place at the costume contest.

  • That means I won first place, first place, first place.

  • So in first place for this challenge, the winner is.

  • That is the difference between first place and not even placing.

  • After a fierce competition, Maria took home first place in the science fair.

  • The team celebrated their hard work when they scored first place in the annual tournament.

Synonyms

number one
vsfirst place
436 1.7

The first and most important person or thing in a list

is focused on competitive rank within events rather than general importance
first prize
vsfirst place
32 1.0

The top award given to the winner in a competition

is the actual top rank or position rather than the award
first
vsfirst place
7 1.0

A person or thing that comes before others in order

is specifically the top competitive rank rather than simple order
first-place finish
vsfirst place
2 3.5

Winning a race or contest by coming first

is the rank itself rather than the act of achieving it

Antonyms

30 3.3

In the lowest position in a competition or list

How High

first place
343 2.1
place
1.6
last-place
30 3.3

Surface Forms

first place singular
first places plural

Morphology

first + place

The meaning 'the highest position or rank' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'first' (the top/ordinal number) with 'place' (a position or rank). This compositional pattern (ordinal + place/position) is cross-linguistically common and follows standard noun-phrase semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

First place comes from races and competitions where the person who finishes in front, the first, stands on the top step to get the prize, the best place. So, first place means 'the highest position or rank' in a contest.