How to Use at first in a Sentence

at first

phrase
  • The cream cheese mixture seemed runny at first, but set overnight.
    — Emily Elias, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Patients will have to drive the shift themselves, at least at first.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Sardiñas cautioned that milkweed doesn’t look like much at first.
    — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Some of the Easter eggs were even hidden to the cast at first.
    — Sarah Hearon, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Learning to work around his body was a challenge for Pace at first.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The seeds are quite crunchy and the texture may seem unusual at first.
    — Stacey Lastoe, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
  • For instance, the outcome of a coin toss seems random at first.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The rally was gradual at first, and now it's got a head of steam.
    — Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Plenty of dental issues can feel like no big deal, at least at first.
    — Erica Sloan, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Wimbledon’s roots were not quite of the people, at least not at first.
    — Nick Pachelli, Time, 11 July 2026
  • Some species have droppings that look like ground pepper or coffee at first glance.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 1 July 2026
  • These were things that perhaps would have been less obvious at first glance.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026
  • As July comes to a close, stockpiles seemed at first to be on the rise.
    — George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • He was set to start at first and hit sixth for the A’s on Friday.
    — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 11 July 2026
  • The coach tried, at first, to build the room through the transfer portal and saw mixed results.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • What may seem like a gimmick at first actually makes a lot of sense.
    — New Atlas, 2 July 2026
  • Stocks may decline at first, but don’t expect that to last, strategists at the bank said.
    — Jeff Cox,darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Circling above, a bird glimpses what at first glance looks like a plump spider climbing on the rocks.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Of course, there was a lot of drugs, a lot of speed at first, then a lot of cocaine, and then a lot of crack.
    — Shaad D’souza, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Their unit at first takes its task so non-seriously that in Ep.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Nolan Schanuel hit a soft grounder with two out and runners at first and second in the fifth.
    — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 2 Aug. 2026
  • As for hosting, Tucci says there was a learning curve at first.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
  • While the new idea of Stratt singing karaoke at a party threw her at first, Hüller came around.
    — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The joke, at first, was how ill-suited for the gig Friedland was on paper.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2026
  • Winn tapped the ball back to closer Emilio Pagán, who threw him out at first to end the game.
    — ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • There are so many details placed throughout the exhibits that people might miss at first glance.
    — Cat Cardenas, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Things seem normal at first but quickly devolve once nighttime rolls around.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
  • Lane says people might be skeptical at first, because of how the free store looks from the street.
    — Debbie Elliott, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The moose kicks and grunts at first, then settles, allowing the deputy to keep working.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Tyler Tolbert was picked off at first while pinch running for Perez, who was walked.
    — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 7 Aug. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'at first.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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