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Glite Dictionary
first round

first round

131 2.5
The first set of matches in a competition where all players or teams play
  • noun
translation icon : primera ronda
  • This is the end of the first round.
  • win the first round
  • the first round results
  • begin the first round

He was going number one or or first round no matter what top three pick.

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Examples

  • Like the first round of a fight... everybody just feeling each other out.

    Sleepers (1996)

  • No presidential candidate received an absolute majority in the first round of that election.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Once you arrive, you will receive your final set of instructions for the first round.

    All Superheroes Must Die (2011)

  • Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first round of the CIF playoffs.

    Coach Carter (2005)

  • Another promising Japanese fighter has made it past the first round of this tournament and into the finals.

    The Smashing Machine (2025)

  • After the first round of voting, it appeared that Villaraigosa would be the victor.

    Academic text (2002)

  • In golf, Dave Brewer has a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Toronto Classic.

    Duel (1971)

  • In the first round of data analysis, I coded emergent themes from the interviews.

    Academic text (2015)

  • She secured a victory in her first round match at the tennis tournament.

  • The team advanced to the next stage after winning their game in the first round of the competition.

Synonyms

prelim
vsfirst round
  • Jargon
4 7.2

A short match that happens before the main event in sports or shows

is the initial set of matches involving all participants before any elimination

How Advanced

final
191 2.0
semifinal
73 2.8
quarterfinal
20 3.4
first round
131 2.5

Surface Forms

first round singular
first rounds plural

Morphology

first + round

The meaning 'the initial stage or set of matches' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'first' (initial) with 'round' (a phase or turn). This compositional pattern (ordinal + phase) is common in English and cross-linguistically parallel, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

First round comes from competitions where a round is one set of games or fights and first means the first of these sets. So the first round is the 'first stage' when everyone plays and some are 'eliminated'.