first-time

IPA/ˈfɜːst taɪm/
IPA/ˈfɜːrst taɪm/

first-time — adjective

1. describing a person who is doing a particular activity for the very first time,

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing a person who is doing a particular activity for the very first time, with no earlier personal experience of it.

Example

The government offers a small grant to help first-time home buyers afford a deposit.

first-time + buyer (very common collocation in finance and housing)

Sirin felt nervous as a first-time mother but the midwife quickly put her at ease.

first-time + mother (typical life-event collocation)

Common collocations
  • first-time buyer
  • first-time mother
  • first-time voter
  • first-time offender
  • first-time visitor
  • first-time user
  • first-time winner
Synonyms
  • novice

    noun, not an adjective — refers to the person; 'first-time' describes them doing the activity.

  • inexperienced

    wider — covers anyone with little experience, not specifically the first occasion.

  • debut

    often used of public performances or appearances; 'her debut novel' is similar to 'her first-time novel attempt' but more formal.

Antonyms
  • repeat

    as in 'repeat offender' or 'repeat visitor' — someone who has done it before.

  • experienced

    describes someone who has done the activity many times already.

Grammar Patterns

first-time + noun (buyer, voter, visitor, mother, offender, user)

Usage Note

Almost always used directly before a noun (attributive). Common partners: buyer, mother, voter, offender, visitor, user, winner. Cannot normally come after 'be' — say 'a first-time buyer', not 'the buyer was first-time'. Distinguish from the noun phrase 'the first time' (e.g. 'the first time I tried sushi'), which describes the occasion itself rather than the person.

Common Mistakes

The voter was first-time.
She was a first-time voter.
'first-time' goes before the noun, not after 'be'.
It was a first time experience.
It was a first-time experience.
keep the hyphen when used as an adjective before a noun.
He is a first-timer buyer.
He is a first-time buyer.
the adjective is 'first-time', not 'first-timer' (which is a separate noun meaning the person).

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four describe someone new to an activity, but they sit in different slots. 'First-time' is the everyday adjective that goes straight before a noun ('first-time buyer', 'first-time mother') and simply says this is the person's very first occasion. 'Novice' is a noun for the person themselves and often suggests they still need training — a 'novice cook' is learning the craft, while a 'first-time cook' might just be making one meal. 'Inexperienced' is wider: it covers anyone who hasn't done much of something, regardless of whether this particular attempt is their first. 'Debut' is more formal and usually appears in artistic or public contexts ('her debut album', 'his debut match'), highlighting the public first appearance rather than the personal milestone. So a teenager voting for the first time is a 'first-time voter'; an apprentice still learning to bake is a 'novice baker'; and a singer releasing their first album is making their 'debut'.

first-time ↗novice ↗inexperienced ↗debut ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • first-time buyer
  • first-time mother
  • first-time voter
  • first-time offender
  • first-time visitor
  • first-time user
  • first-time winner
  • first-time parent

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

Formed in modern English by combining the ordinal number 'first' (Old English 'fyrst', meaning earliest) with the noun 'time' (Old English 'tīma', meaning a particular occasion). The hyphenated adjective use, 'first-time', became common in the twentieth century, especially in journalism, marketing, and legal writing, to describe people doing something for their very first occasion ('first-time buyers', 'first-time offenders'). It is part of a productive English pattern that turns 'first + noun' phrases into compound adjectives (compare 'first-class', 'first-hand', 'first-rate').