first-rate adjective 2noun 1forms 2 adjective2 •Superb, exceptional; of the best sort; very high quality.Our only first-rate body of contemporary poetry is the German. — 1867 •(UK, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having at least 100 guns across three gun decks, a complement of 850–875, and weighing approximately 2,500 tons burthen. noun1 •(UK, historical) A first-rate ship of the line. formsfirst rates · first-rates
