First Time: Meaning, Usage, Collocations, and Examples

First time (pronounced: /fɜrst taɪm/) is a phrase that refers to doing, experiencing, or encountering something for the very first occasion. In everyday use, it can describe any new experience, but in sexual contexts it specifically refers to one’s first sexual intercourse or sexual encounter.

Easy Explanation

“First time” means the very beginning or first experience of something. For example, riding a bicycle for the first time, traveling abroad for the first time, or having sex for the first time.

Grammatical Formation

Noun phrase: first (ordinal number) + time (occasion).
Common forms: the first time, my first time, for the first time.

Word Comparisons

First time vs. beginning: beginning = start of anything; first time = the first occasion of doing it.
First time vs. loss of virginity: first time = neutral, respectful; loss of virginity = more formal and moral/religious in tone.
First time vs. popping the cherry: popping the cherry = crude slang; first time = neutral and commonly used.

Connotations

Neutral: describes a new experience.
Positive: exciting, special, memorable.
Sexual: polite or neutral way of referring to one’s first intercourse.

Meaning with Prepositions

For the first time: She traveled abroad for the first time.
My first time: My first time was unforgettable.
The first time in: It’s the first time in history this has happened.

Real-Life Examples

She spoke in public for the first time yesterday.
His first time flying was both exciting and scary.
The book describes her first time falling in love.
They openly discussed their first time having sex.

Synonyms

initial experience, debut, beginning, introduction, initiation, sexual debut (in sexual context)

Antonyms

repetition, routine, regularity, habit, experience (after practice)

Related Terms

Virginity – state of never having had sex.
Sexual debut – more clinical term for first sexual experience.
Initiation – the process of beginning or being introduced.
Defloration – archaic term for a woman’s first intercourse.

Common Collocations

first time experience
first time ever
my first time
first time in history
first time having sex

Idiomatic and Figurative Usage

First time for everything: expression meaning everyone will eventually try something new.
My first time: often used to describe personal or sexual experience.
First time lucky: being successful at the first attempt.

Sample Sentences

Her first time driving alone was nerve-wracking.
He remembered his first time performing on stage.
They shared stories about their first time traveling abroad.
She spoke gently about her first time having sex, calling it meaningful.

Connection to Sexuality

Yes, directly. “First time” is widely used as a polite and neutral phrase for sexual initiation, preferred over crude slang like “pop a cherry.” It can cover both physical and emotional aspects of a first sexual experience.

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