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private first class
noun
: an enlisted man ranking in the army above a private and below a corporal and in the marine corps above a private and below a lance corporal
Examples of private first class in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tate attained the rank of private first class before he was discharged.
—Christina Coulter, Fox News, 22 Aug. 2023
Guillen, who was promoted from private first class to specialist on Wednesday due to her time in service, was allegedly attacked with a hammer and dismembered with a machete.
—Fox News, 3 July 2020
The sourness that was a first lieutenant on Monday had been demoted to private first class on Tuesday — and confined to barracks by those two-star peppers, so impressed with their power.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2023
For decades, few publicly acknowledged the women’s role in the war, said Indiana Hunt-Martin, who was a private first class in the battalion.
—Faith Karimi, CNN, 23 Feb. 2023
Choi, a private first class, was the lowest-ranking member there, and the lieutenant in charge ordered him to board the bus and count the dead.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2023
The former Army private first class journeyed to New Orleans from California aboard an Amtrak train.
—Robert Higgs, cleveland, 12 Jan. 2023
All are infantrymen, Bianzon and Labial with the rank of specialist and Camentil, Flores and Ramit with the rank of private first class.
—Justine McDaniel, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
Johan Theodoor Aldewereld, who served as a private first class and fought hand-to-hand against North Korean soldiers, returned to South Korea in 2016 -- his first time back since he was discharged during the war.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN, 26 Aug. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'private first class.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1918, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of private first class was
in 1918
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Dictionary Entries Near private first class
Cite this Entry
“Private first class.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/private%20first%20class. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
private first class
noun
: an enlisted person with a rank just below corporal in the army or just below lance corporal in the marines
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