The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

--v. 5 Often firm up. consolidate, establish, settle (down),
solidify, resolve, determine, set up: We firmed up the terms of
the contract. Sugar prices firmed today.
--n. 6 company, organization, corporation, limited company,
public limited company, plc, partnership, proprietorship,
business, enterprise, concern, house, conglomerate,
multinational (company), cartel, Colloq outfit; US jargon CIA,
Central Intelligence Agency: He works for a firm in the City.
firmament n. heaven, the heavens, sky, the skies, vault (of heaven),
Literary welkin, empyrean: Sirius is one of the brightest stars
in the firmament.
firmly adv. 1 solidly, strongly, securely, tightly, rigidly, fast,
immovably: The column is set firmly into the concrete. 2
resolutely, steadfastly, determinedly, staunchly, unwaveringly,
decisively, unhesitatingly, constantly: Jacquelyn firmly
supports John in anything he says.
first adj. 1 foremost, leading, chief, head, premier, prime, primary,
principal, pre-eminent: The Kennedys were regarded as among
'the first people of Boston'. I heard that your son is now
first violinist in the Philharmonic. 2 earliest, original,
senior, oldest; initial, beginning, maiden, opening: The first
clock in England was made about 1288. The first assault resulted
in great loss of life. 3 fundamental, elementary, basic,
primary, cardinal, key, essential: It is necessary to return to
first principles.
--adv. 4 before, in front, earliest, beforehand, ahead, sooner,
foremost: Bannister came in first. 5 in the first place,
firstly, before all or anything else, initially, at the outset
or beginning, to begin or start with, from the start, Colloq
first off: First, I want to thank you all for coming to my
party.
--n. 6 beginning, start, inception, commencement, outset,
Colloq word go: I knew you'd win from the first. 7 first
place, blue ribbon, gold (medal), triumph, victory; win:
Britain achieved three firsts in yesterday's athletics meeting.
8 at first. initially, in the beginning, at the start or outset,