first-rate(s = adj.all) a-one, ace, crack, super, tiptop, top-notch, topnotch, tops - of the highest quality; "an ace reporter"; "a crack shot"; "a first-rate golfer"; "a super party"; "played top-notch tennis"; "an athlete in tiptop condition"; "she is absolutely tops"

   first-rate(r = adv.all) very well - quite well; "she doesn't feel first-rate today"

   Of the highest excellence; preëminent in quality, size, or estimation. [1913 Webster]
"Our only first-rate body of contemporary poetry is the German." [1913 Webster]
"Hermocrates . . . a man of first-rate ability." [1913 Webster]

   A war vessel of the highest grade or the most powerful class. [1913 Webster]

   of the highest quality; as, a first-rate reporter. [WordNet 1.5]

N  importance, consequence, moment, prominence, consideration, mark, materialness, import, significance, concern, emphasis, interest, greatness, superiority, notability, weight, value, usefulness, gravity, seriousness, solemnity, no joke, no laughing matter, pressure, urgency, stress, matter of life and death, memorabilia, notabilia, great doings, red-letter day, great thing, great point, main chance, the be all and the end all, cardinal point, substance, gist, sum and substance, gravamen, head and front, important part, principal part, prominent part, essential part, half the battle, sine qua non, breath of one's nostrils, cream, salt, core, kernel, heart, nucleus, keynote, keystone, corner stone, trump card, salient points, top sawyer, first fiddle, prima donna, chief, triton among the minnows, 'it', important, of importance, momentous, material, to the point, not to be overlooked, not to be despised, not to be sneezed at, egregious, weighty, of note, notable, prominent, salient, signal, memorable, remarkable, unforgettable, worthy of remark, worthy of notice, never to be forgotten, stirring, eventful, grave, serious, earnest, noble, grand, solemn, impressive, commanding, imposing, urgent, pressing, critical, instant, paramount, essential, vital, all-absorbing, radical, cardinal, chief, main, prime, primary, principal, leading, capital, foremost, overruling, of vital importance in the front rank, first-rate, superior, considerable, marked, rare, significant, telling, trenchant, emphatic, pregnant, tanti, materially, in the main, above all, kat' exochin, par excellence, to crown all, to beat all, expende Hannibalem!.

N  goodness, excellence, merit, virtue, value, worth, price, super-excellence, supereminence, superiority, perfection, coup de maitre, masterpiece, chef d'ouvre, prime, flower, cream, elite, pick, A, nonesuch, nonpareil, creme de la creme, flower of the flock, cock of the roost, salt of the earth, champion, prodigy, tidbit, gem, gem of the first water, bijou, precious stone, jewel, pearl, diamond, ruby, brilliant, treasure, good thing, rara avis, one in a thousand, beneficence, good man, harmless, hurtless, unobnoxious, innocuous, innocent, inoffensive, beneficial, valuable, of value, serviceable, advantageous, edifying, profitable, salutary, favorable, propitious fair, good, good as gold, excellent, better, superior, above par, nice, fine, genuine, best, choice, select, picked, elect, recherche, rare, priceless, unparagoned, unparalleled, superlatively, good, bully, crackajack, giltedged, superfine, superexcellent, of the first water, first-rate, first-class, high- wrought, exquisite, very best, crack, prime, tiptop, capital, cardinal, standard, inimitable, admirable, estimable, praiseworthy, pleasing, couleur de rose, precious, of great price, costly, worth its weight in gold, worth a Jew's eye, priceless, invaluable, inestimable, precious as the apple of the eye, tolerable, up to the mark, unexceptionable, unobjectionable, satisfactory, tidy, in good condition, in fair condition, fresh, sound, beneficially, well, Jewels five words long, long may such goodness live!, the luxury of doing good.

N  superiority, majority, greatness, advantage, pull, preponderance, preponderation, vantage ground, prevalence, partiality, personal superiority, nobility, Triton among the minnows, primus inter pares, nulli secundus, captain, crackajack, supremacy, preeminence, lead, maximum, record, trikumia, climax, culmination, transcendence, ne plus ultra, lion's share, Benjamin's mess, excess, surplus, (redundancy), superior, greater, major, higher, exceeding, great, distinguished, ultra, vaulting, more than a match for, supreme, greatest, utmost, paramount, preeminent, foremost, crowning, first-rate, unrivaled peerless, matchless, none such, second to none, sans pareil, unparagoned, unparalleled, unequalled, unapproached, unsurpassed, superlative, inimitable facile princeps, incomparable, sovereign, without parallel, nulli secundus, ne plus ultra, beyond compare, beyond comparison, culminating, transcendent, transcendental, plus royaliste que le Roi, more catholic than the Pope increased, enlarged, beyond, more, over, over the mark, above the mark, above par, upwards of, in advance of, over and above, at the top of the scale, at its height, eminently, egregiously, preeminently, surpassing, prominently, superlatively, supremely, above all, of all things, the most, to crown all, kat exochin, par excellence, principally, especially, particularly, peculiarly, a fortiori, even, yea, still more, I shall not look upon his like again, deos fortioribus addesse.