in the first place

Từ điển Oxford Learners Wordfinder Dictionary

adverb

1. before now (Freq. 6)
- why didn't you tell me in the first place?
• Syn:
earlier, in the beginning, to begin with, originally
2. of primary import (Freq. 5)
- this is primarily a question of economics
- it was in the first place a local matter
• Syn:
primarily
• Ant:
secondarily (for: primarily)
• Derived from adjective:
primary (for: primarily)