front

noun

The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves.

The side of a building with the main entrance.

A field of activity.

A person or institution acting as the public face of some other, covert group.

(meteorology) 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.

(military) An area where armies are engaged in conflict, especially the line of contact.

(military) The lateral space occupied by an element measured from the extremity of one flank to the extremity of the other flank.

(military) The direction of the enemy.

(military) When a combat situation does not exist or is not assumed, the direction toward which the command is faced.

(informal) An act, show, façade, persona: an intentional and false impression of oneself.

The most conspicuous part.

The beginning.

(UK) A seafront or coastal promenade.

(slang, in the plural) A grill (jewellery worn on front teeth).

(dated) Cheek; boldness; impudence.

(dated, euphemistic, chiefly in the plural) A woman's breast.

(slang, hotels, dated) The bellhop whose turn it is to answer a client's call, which is often the word "front" used as an exclamation.

(historical) A major military subdivision of the Soviet Army.

(historical) That which covers the foremost part of the head: a front piece of false hair worn by women.

(obsolete) The forehead or brow, the part of the face above the eyes; sometimes, also, the whole face.

verb

(transitive) To face, be opposite to.

(transitive) To face up to, to meet head-on, to confront.

(transitive) To adorn with, at the front; to put on the front.

(phonetics, transitive, intransitive) To pronounce with the tongue in a front position.

(linguistics, transitive) To move (a word or clause) to the start of a sentence (or series of adjectives, etc).

(intransitive, slang) To act as a front (for); to cover (for).

(transitive) To lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.).

(ambitransitive, multiplicity) 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.

(transitive, colloquial) To provide money or financial assistance in advance to.

(intransitive, slang) To assume false or disingenuous appearances.

(transitive, slang) To deceive or attempt to deceive someone with false or disingenuous appearances (on).

(transitive) To appear before.

(transitive or intransitive, slang, African-American Vernacular) To act cocky, disrespectful and aggressive; to confront (someone).

(intransitive, dated) To face (on, to); to be pointed in a given direction.

adjective

Located at or near the front.

(comparable, phonetics) 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).

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).

Roots

fronsfront- · Latin · forehead, front

Synonyms for front

headmost frontagen facen frontaladj foren facaden forefrontn forwardadv

Synonyms & related words for front

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of front — including headmost, frontage, face, frontal, fore, facade. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to front

Explore words related to front — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include forepart, battlefront, rear, vanward, frontward, foreside, hindward, rearmost. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for front

Common synonyms for front include headmost, frontage, face, frontal, fore, facade, forefront, forward — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does front come from?

The word front breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root front-, from Latin frons (“forehead, front”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.