first principles

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ilyse Hogue: I go back to first principles on a lot of the projects that I work on.

From Slate • May 18, 2026

He will give a speech later about his first principles - his values and his patriotism.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026

“We have to get back to first principles, basic issues, of auditing,” Atkins said at a conference in December.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

For us to truly understand something, we have to be able to re-create the effect from first principles, if the principles at work are indeed what create the effect.

From Slate • Feb. 26, 2025

Our first principles told us that Pauling could not be the greatest of all chemists without realizing that DNA was the most golden of all molecules.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson