premier

premier — adjective

1. holding the top place in quality, success, or public importance

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

holding the top place in quality, success, or public importance

Example

Couples book the city's premier hotel ballroom months in advance.

premier + place/service noun

After regional wins, Maya earned a place at the city's premier tennis academy.

Common collocations
  • premier school
  • premier company
  • premier event
  • premier center
Synonyms
  • leading

    close in meaning and common for companies, schools, and experts

  • top

    more informal and often shorter in everyday speech

  • foremost

    more formal and often used in writing

  • main

    weaker; can mean most important without suggesting highest quality

Antonyms
  • secondary

    lower in importance or rank

  • minor

    less important or less influential

Grammar Patterns

premier company

premier school

premier event

premier center

Usage Note

Usually before a noun. Distinguish from adjective/2, which is about being earliest in time rather than being top-ranking.

Common Mistakes

The premier train left at six.
The first train left at six.
In adjective/1, premier means top-ranking, not earliest in time.

2. coming before every other stage, event, or version in a series

2.adjectiveC2
Definition

coming before every other stage, event, or version in a series

Example

Scholars studied the premier draft before comparing later changes.

formal use for earliest version

The library keeps the premier issue of the school magazine from 1924.

Common collocations
  • premier draft
  • premier record
  • premier route
  • premier years
Synonyms
  • earliest

    the plain everyday word for this idea

  • first

    broader and much more common in ordinary use

  • initial

    often used for the beginning stage of a process or plan

  • opening

    works best for a first part, scene, or event

Antonyms
  • later

    coming after an earlier stage or event

  • final

    coming at the end of a series

Grammar Patterns

premier draft

premier record

premier route

premier years

Usage Note

Formal and uncommon in modern everyday English. Distinguish from adjective/1, which describes the highest rank or quality rather than the earliest point in time.

Common Mistakes

It is the premier hotel in town because it opened in 1950.
It is the first hotel in town because it opened in 1950.
adjective/2 is about order in time, not overall quality.

premier — noun

premier — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Premier is a formal word for the person, place, or organization at the highest level in a field. Leading is close, but it is broader and more common in everyday writing, especially for companies, scientists, and teams. Top is the most informal option and works well in speech. Foremost is more literary and often appears in careful writing or speeches. Main is weaker than the others: it can mean most important, but it does not always suggest the best quality or highest rank. A hospital can be the premier center for heart care, a researcher can be a leading expert, and a shop can simply be the main store in town.

premier ↗leading ↗topforemost ↗main ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Premier came into English from French premier, meaning first. That French word goes back to Latin primarius, built on primus, also meaning first. English kept the idea of being first in rank or order, and later used the word for a head of government and for a film or show appearing before the public for the first time.