1. more important than anything else
Professional
Social
first and foremost, something has to be done
If you say that something is foremost it means it is the most important in rank or position. So if you say something is 'first and foremost' it means something is the most important or 'more than anything else'. "First and foremost professor Jackson was a great father to his two children." "First and foremost we need to discuss sales figures for this quarter." This is quite a formal expression you will hear mostly used in professional contexts. Similar in meaning to 'first things first'.