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Front - 14 dictionary results

front

  [fruhnt]
Use Front in a Sentence
–noun
1. the foremost part or surface of anything.
2. the part or side of anything that faces forward: the front of a jacket.
3. the part or side of anything, as a building, that seems to look out or to be directed forward: He sat in the front of the restaurant.
4. any side or face, as of a building.
5. a façade, considered with respect to its architectural treatment or material: a cast-iron front.
6. a property line along a street or the like: a fifty-foot front.
7. a place or position directly before anything: We decided to plant trees in the front.
8. a position of leadership in a particular endeavor or field: She rose to the front of her profession.
9. Military.
a. the foremost line or part of an army.
b. a line of battle.
c. the place where combat operations are carried on.
10. an area of activity, conflict, or competition: news from the business front.
11. land facing a road, river, etc.
12. British. a promenade along a seashore.
13. Informal. a distinguished person listed as an official of an organization, for the sake of prestige, and who is usually inactive.
14. a person or thing that serves as a cover or disguise for some other activity, esp. one of a secret, disreputable, or illegal nature; a blind: The store was a front for foreign agents.
15. outward impression of rank, position, or wealth.
16. bearing or demeanor in confronting anything: a calm front.
17. haughtiness; self-importance: That clerk has the most outrageous front.
18. the forehead, or the entire face: the statue's gracefully chiseled front.
19. a coalition or movement to achieve a particular end, usually political: the people's front.
20. something attached or worn at the breast, as a shirt front or a dickey: to spill gravy down one's front.
21. Meteorology. an interface or zone of transition between two dissimilar air masses.
22. Theater.
a. the auditorium.
b. the business offices of a theater.
c. the front of the stage; downstage.
–adjective
23. of or pertaining to the front.
24. situated in or at the front: front seats.
25. Phonetics. (of a speech sound) articulated with the tongue blade relatively far forward in the mouth, as the sounds of lay.
–verb (used with object)
26. to have the front toward; face: Our house fronts the lake.
27. to meet face to face; confront.
28. to face in opposition, hostility, or defiance.
29. to furnish or supply a front to: to front a building with sandstone.
30. to serve as a front to: A long, sloping lawn fronted their house.
31. Informal. to provide an introduction to; introduce: a recorded message that is fronted with a singing commercial.
32. to lead (a jazz or dance band).
33. Phonetics. to articulate (a speech sound) at a position farther front in the mouth.
34. Linguistics. to move (a constituent) to the beginning of a clause or sentence.
–verb (used without object)
35. to have or turn the front in some specified direction: Our house fronts on the lake.
36. to serve as a cover or disguise for another activity, esp. something of a disreputable or illegal nature: The shop fronts for a narcotics ring.
–interjection
37. (used to call or command someone to come, look, etc., to the front, as in an order to troops on parade or in calling a hotel bellboy to the front desk): Front and center, on the double!
—Idioms
38. in front, in a forward place or position: Sit down, you in front!
39. in front of,
a. ahead of: to walk in front of a moving crowd.
b. outside the entrance of: to wait in front of a house.
c. in the presence of: to behave badly in front of company.
40. out front,
a. outside the entrance: He's waiting out front.
b. ahead of competitors: This advertising campaign ought to put our business way out front.
c. Theater. in the audience or auditorium.
d. Informal. candidly; frankly: Say what you mean out front.
41. up front, Informal.
a. in advance; before anything else: You'll have to make a payment of $5,000 up front.
b. frank; open; direct: I want you to be up front with me.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME frount, front < AF, OF < L front- (s. of frōns) forehead, brow, front

front.

 
frontispiece.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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front   (frŭnt)   
n.  
  1. The forward part or surface, as of a building.
  2. The area, location, or position directly before or ahead.
  3. A position of leadership or superiority.
  4. The forehead or face, especially of a bird or other animal.
    1. Demeanor or bearing, especially in the presence of danger or difficulty.
    2. An outward, often feigned, appearance or manner: They put up a good front.
    3. Land bordering a lake, river, or street.
    4. A promenade along the water at a resort.
    5. The most forward line of a combat force.
    6. The area of contact between opposing combat forces; a battlefront.
    7. A group or movement uniting various individuals or organizations for the achievement of a common purpose; a coalition.
    8. A nominal leader lacking in real authority; a figurehead.
    9. An apparently respectable person, group, or business used as a cover for secret or illegal activities.
    10. The first part; the beginning.
    11. The face; the countenance.
    1. Land bordering a lake, river, or street.
    2. A promenade along the water at a resort.
    3. The most forward line of a combat force.
    4. The area of contact between opposing combat forces; a battlefront.
    5. A group or movement uniting various individuals or organizations for the achievement of a common purpose; a coalition.
    6. A nominal leader lacking in real authority; a figurehead.
    7. An apparently respectable person, group, or business used as a cover for secret or illegal activities.
    8. The first part; the beginning.
    9. The face; the countenance.
  7. A detachable part of a man's dress shirt covering the chest; a dickey.
    1. The most forward line of a combat force.
    2. The area of contact between opposing combat forces; a battlefront.
    3. A group or movement uniting various individuals or organizations for the achievement of a common purpose; a coalition.
    4. A nominal leader lacking in real authority; a figurehead.
    5. An apparently respectable person, group, or business used as a cover for secret or illegal activities.
    6. The first part; the beginning.
    7. The face; the countenance.
  9. Meteorology The interface between air masses of different temperatures or densities.
  10. A field of activity: the economic front.
    1. A group or movement uniting various individuals or organizations for the achievement of a common purpose; a coalition.
    2. A nominal leader lacking in real authority; a figurehead.
    3. An apparently respectable person, group, or business used as a cover for secret or illegal activities.
    4. The first part; the beginning.
    5. The face; the countenance.
  12. Archaic
    1. The first part; the beginning.
    2. The face; the countenance.
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, aimed at, or located in the front: the front lines; the front row; front property on Lake Tahoe.
  2. Linguistics Designating vowels produced at or toward the front of the oral cavity, such as the vowels of green and get.
v.   front·ed, front·ing, fronts

v.   tr.
  1. To look out on; face: a house that fronts the ocean.
  2. To meet in opposition; confront.
  3. To provide a front for.
  4. To serve as a front for.
  5. Music To lead (a group of musicians): "Goodman . . . became the first major white bandleader to front an integrated group" (Bill Barol).
  6. Informal To provide before payment: "In . . . personal liability suits, a lawyer is fronting both time and money" (Richard Faille).
  7. Linguistics To move (a word or phrase) to the beginning of a clause or sentence, typically for emphasis or contrast.
  8. Linguistics To cause (a vowel) to be pronounced farther toward the front of the oral cavity.
v.   intr.
  1. To have a front; face onto something else: Her property fronts on the highway.
  2. To provide an apparently respectable cover for secret or illegal activities: fronting for organized crime.
interj.  Used by a desk clerk in a hotel to summon a bellhop.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin frōns, front-, forehead, front.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Front

Front\, n. [F. frant forehead, L. frons, frontis; perh. akin to E. brow.]

1. 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. --Pope.

Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front. --Shak.

His front yet threatens, and his frowns command. --Prior.

2. The forehead, countenance, or personal presence, as expressive of character or temper, and especially, of boldness of disposition, sometimes of impudence; seeming; as, a bold front; a hardened front.

With smiling fronts encountering. --Shak.

The inhabitants showed a bold front. --Macaulay.

3. The part or surface of anything which seems to look out, or to be directed forward; the fore or forward part; the foremost rank; the van; -- the opposite to back or rear; as, the front of a house; the front of an army.

Had he his hurts before? Ay, on the front. --Shak.

4. A position directly before the face of a person, or before the foremost part of a thing; as, in front of un person, of the troops, or of a house.

5. The most conspicuous part.

The very head and front of my offending. --Shak.

6. 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 s front. --Mrs. Browning.

7. The beginning. "Summer's front." --Shak.

Bastioned front (Mil.), a curtain connerting two half bastions.

Front door, the door in the front wall of a building, usually the principal entrance.

Front of fortification, the works constructed upon any one side of a polygon. --Farrow.

Front of operations, all that part of the field of operations in front of the successive positions occupied by the army as it moves forward. --Farrow.

To come to the front, to attain prominence or leadership.

Front

Front\, a. Of or relating to the front or forward part; having a position in front; foremost; as, a front view.

Front

Front\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fronted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fronting.]

1. To oppose face to face; to oppose directly; to meet in a hostile manner.

You four shall front them in the narrow lane. --Shak.

2. To appear before; to meet.

[Enid] daily fronted him In some fresh splendor. --Tennyson.

3. To face toward; to have the front toward; to confront; as, the house fronts the street.

And then suddenly front the changed reality. --J. Morley.

4. To stand opposed or opposite to, or over against as, his house fronts the church.

5. To adorn in front; to supply a front to; as, to front a house with marble; to front a head with laurel.

Yonder walls, that pertly front your town. --Shak.

Front

Front\, v. t. To have or turn the face or front in any direction; as, the house fronts toward the east.

Front

Front\, n. 1. (Fort.) All the works along one side of the polygon inclosing the site which is fortified.

2. (Phon.) The middle of the upper part of the tongue, -- the part of the tongue which is more or less raised toward the palate in the pronunciation of certain sounds, as the vowel i in machine, e in bed, and consonant y in you. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect]10.

3. The call boy whose turn it is to answer the call, which is often the word "front," used as an exclamation. [Hotel Cant]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Front
Spanish: parte delantera, primera,
German: die Vorderseite,
Japanese: 前方
More Translations »

front (frontal zone)

In meteorology, the line that forms the boundary between two air masses. Unless they are very similar in temperature and humidity, they will not mix.

Note: Fronts usually produce unstable weather.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

front 
c.1290, from O.Fr. front "forehead, brow," from L. frontem (nom. frons) "forehead," perhaps lit. "that which projects," from PIE *bhront-, from base *bhren- "to project, stand out." Sense of "foremost part of anything" developed in L. The military sense of "foremost part of an army" (c.1350) led to the meaning "field of operations in contact with the enemy" (1665). Home front is from 1919. Sense of "public facade" is from 1891; that of "something serving as a cover for illegal activities" is from 1905. The verb is from 1523. Meteorological sense first recorded 1921. Frontal is 1656, of the forehead; 1971 with reference to the naked body. Front-runner is 1914, a metaphor from racing. Front yard first attested 1767.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: front
Function: noun
: something or someone (as a person or group) used to mask the identity or true character or activity of the actual person or organization in control —front verb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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front   (frŭnt)  Pronunciation Key 


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The boundary between two air masses that have different temperatures or humidity. In the mid-latitude areas of the Earth, where warm tropical air meets cooler polar air, the systems of fronts define the weather and often cause precipitation to form. Warm air, being lighter than cold air, tends to rise, cool, and condense along such boundaries, forming rain or snow. See also cold front, occluded front, polar front, stationary front, warm front.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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front

In addition to the idioms beginning with front, also see brave face (front); in front of; out front; up front.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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front
confrontational
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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