First-born or firstborn?
first-born is an adjective meaning “Alternative form of firstborn”; firstborn is an adjective meaning “Born as the first one in a family, flock or the like”. first-born is written with a hyphen and firstborn as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between first-born and firstborn?
| first-born | firstborn | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective | noun, adjective |
| Meaning | Alternative form of firstborn | The first child to be born to a parent or family Born as the first one in a family, flock or the like Most excellent; most distinguished or exalted |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈfɜː(ɹ)stˌbɔː(ɹ)n/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | about once in every 1 million words |
Sources: first-born and firstborn in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of first-born and firstborn
first-born
- 1
Alternative form of firstborn
firstborn
- 1
The first child to be born to a parent or family
- 2
Born as the first one in a family, flock or the like
- 3
Most excellent; most distinguished or exalted
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, first-born or firstborn?
first-born is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; firstborn about once in every 1 million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).