first of all
"first-of-all" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“first of all” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Firstly; before anything else.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | first of all |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “first of all” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for first of all is 12 letters long, classified as an adverb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Firstly; before anything else.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for first of all in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is first of all, spelled F-I-R-S-T- -O-F- -A-L-L.
Definition
- 1Firstly; before anything else.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “first of all”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-I-R-S-T- -O-F- -A-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.