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up front

 - 10 dictionary results

up-front

  [uhp-fruhnt] Informal.
Use up front in a Sentence
–adjective Also, upfront.
1. invested or paid in advance or as beginning capital: an up-front fee of five percent and an additional five percent when the job is done.
2. honest; candid; straightforward: He's very up-front about discussing his past.
3. conspicuous or prominent: The company has an up-front position in its industry.
4. located in the front or forward section: to request up-front seats on a plane.
–adverb Also, up front.
5. as an initial investment, beginning capital, or an advance payment: They'll need a half-million dollars up-front before opening the business.
6. before other payments, deductions, or returning a profit: Estimated operating expenses will be deducted up-front.
Origin:
1965–70

front

  [fruhnt]
–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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To up front
up-front or up·front   (ŭp'frŭnt')
adj.  

  1. Straightforward; frank.

  2. Paid or due in advance: up-front cash.

adv.   also up front
In advance; beforehand: demanded to be paid up front for the photographs.
up'-front'ness n.
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
Cultural Dictionary

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
Slang Dictionary
front

  1. in.
    to pay out money in advance of receiving goods; to pay up front. (See also front money.) : I fronted about $550 for the new computer.
  2. n.
    a respectable appearance. : Jan can put up a good front, but most of us know the real Jan.
  3. in.
    to pretend; to lie. : Stop fronting and be yourself.
  4. tv.
    to challenge someone; to confront someone, perhaps in anger. : Don't front me unless you are ready for a fight.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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up front

  1. mod.
    at the beginning; in advance. : The more you pay up front, the less you'll have to finance.
  2. mod.
    open; honest; forthcoming. : I wish the salesman had been more up front about it.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

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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Legal Dictionary

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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Science Dictionary
front   (frŭnt)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

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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Idioms & Phrases

up front

  1. In the forward section, as of an airplane or theater. For example, We'd like two seats as far up front as possible. [First half of 1900s]

  2. Paid in advance, as in We need at least half of the money for the production up front. [Colloquial; c. 1930]

  3. Candid, direct, as in Now tell me straight up front what you think of this outfit. [Second half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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