first person

American  

[furst pur-suhn] / ˈfɜrst ˈpɜr sən /

noun

1. the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to the speaker's own self first person singular or to a group including the speaker first person plural.

2. a pronoun or verb form in the first person, as I or am in English, or a set of such forms.

3. a literary style in which the narrative is told from the perspective of a narrator speaking directly.

   The story is written in the first person.

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first person British  

noun

1. a grammatical category of pronouns and verbs used by the speaker to refer to or talk about himself or herself, either alone ( first person singular ) or together with others ( first person plural )

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Etymology

Origin of first person

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

McIlroy’s approach to preparing for this year’s Masters was inspired in part by Nicklaus, the first person to repeat at Augusta National.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

The first person to be buried at the school was his brother.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

It was of course the voice of Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the Moon, with the Apollo 11 mission.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

For Victor Glover -- the first person of color to fly around the Moon -- a lot of that raw delight arrived at takeoff.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

Yolanda is a team captain, and she doesn’t pick me even though everybody knows your friend is the absolute first person you should pick.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée