front

/fɹʌnt/

noun 20
verb 14
adjective 3
exclamation 1
forms 8
phrases 12

noun20

the side of something that is turned forward, or its end that goes first when it moves
•
The side of a building with the main entrance.
- I'll go out the front, and you go out the back.
- Flowering plants cascaded down the fronts of the buildings.
•
A person or institution acting as the public face of some other, covert group.
- Officially it's a dry-cleaning shop, but everyone knows it's a front for the mafia.
•
(informal) An act, show, façade, persona: an intentional and false impression of oneself.
- He says he likes hip-hop, but I think it's just a front.
- You don't need to put on a front. Just be yourself.
An area where armies are engaged in conflict, especially the line of contact.
A field of activity.
•
The interface or transition zone between two airmasses of different density, often resulting in precipitation. Since the temperature distribution is the most important regulator of atmospheric density, a front almost invariably separates airmasses of different temperature.
- We need to take the clothes off the line. The news reported a front is coming in from the east, and we can expect heavy rain and maybe hail.
(UK) A seafront or coastal promenade.
•
The beginning.
- summer's front — 1609
The most conspicuous part.
The direction of the enemy.
When a combat situation does not exist or is not assumed, the direction toward which the command is faced.
(historical) A major military subdivision of the Soviet Army.
•
[in the plural] (slang) A grill (jewellery worn on front teeth).
- I'm saying, man, them fronts? That car? Who is you, Chiron? — 2016
The lateral space occupied by an element measured from the extremity of one flank to the extremity of the other flank.
•
[in the plural] (euphemistic, old-fashioned) A woman's breast.
- She thought—imagined, really—that her, well, that her fronts were too big. She grew up, you see, in the flapper era, when it was fashionable for women to have very flat fronts. — 2015
(old-fashioned) Cheek; boldness; impudence.
•
(historical) That which covers the foremost part of the head: a front piece of false hair worn by women.
- like any plain Miss Smith's, who wears a front — 1856
(slang, old-fashioned) The bellhop whose turn it is to answer a client's call, which is often the word "front" used as an exclamation.
•
(no longer used) The forehead or brow, the part of the face above the eyes; sometimes, also, the whole face.
- Bless'd with his father's front, his mother's tongue. — 1728

verb14

•
To face, be opposite to.
- After saluting her, he led her to a couch that fronted us, where they both sat down, and the young Genoese helped her to a glass of wine, with some Naples biscuit on a salver. — 1749
•
To lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.).
- Ray Winstone is fronting a campaign for the Football Association that aims to stop pushy parents shouting abuse at their children during the grassroots football season. — 2009
•
To face (on, to); to be pointed in a given direction.
- The great gate fronting to the north was about four feet high, and almost two feet wide, through which I could easily creep. — 1726
•
To face up to, to meet head-on, to confront.
- Know you not Gaueston hath store of golde, Which may in Ireland purchase him such friends, As he will front the mightiest of vs all, — 1594
(slang) To act cocky, disrespectful and aggressive; to confront (someone).
•
(informal) To provide money or financial assistance in advance to.
- I'm prepared to say that I fronted you the money for a business deal with me, and the investment paid off brilliantly. — 2004
•
(slang) To assume false or disingenuous appearances.
- What's with these homies dissin' my girl? / Why do they gotta front? — 1994
•
To adorn with, at the front; to put on the front.
- Three tiers of balconies fronted with roped columns supporting arched openings looked down on the marble hall. — 2001
•
(slang) To act as a front (for); to cover (for).
- Everybody knew Skopas fronted for the fight mob even though he was officially the arena manager. — 2007
•
To move (a word or clause) to the start of a sentence (or series of adjectives, etc).
- A problem facing any syntactic analysis of hyperbaton is that nonconstituent strings are fronted […] In cases where the adjective is fronted with the determiner, the determiner is not doubled […] — 2010
•
To pronounce with the tongue in a front position.
- The velar plosives are often fronted through the influence of a following front vowel, and retracted through the influence of a following back vowel. — 2005
•
(slang) To deceive or attempt to deceive someone with false or disingenuous appearances (on).
- You think that you can front when revelation comes? / You can't front on that — 1992
•
Of an alter in a person with multiplicity (especially in dissociative identity disorder): to be the currently actively presenting member of (a system), in control of the person's body.
- Fronting can be understood as a representation of who controls the system, that is, the person to whom you are speaking. Emilia was typically the person fronting her system. — 2018
To appear before.

adjective3

•
Located at or near the front.
- The front runner was thirty meters ahead of her nearest competitor.
•
Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the front of the mouth, near the hard palate (most often describing a vowel).
- The English word dress has a front vowel in most dialects.
•
Closest or nearest, of a set of futures contracts which expire at particular times, or of the times they expire; (typically, the front month or front year is the next calendar month or year after the current one).
- Contracts are available for every month in the front year but do not extend over a year. — 1995

exclamation1

•
Used to summon a worker on duty, such as a bellhop.
- Harshaw yelled “Front!” again and Miriam started toward him. — 1961

forms

fronted · fronting · fronts · farther front · further front · farthest front · frontest · furthest front

Phrases with front