FRONT


Meaning of FRONT in English

/ frʌnt; NAmE / noun , adjective , verb

■ noun

FORWARD PART / POSITION

1.

[ C , usually sing. ] (usually the front ) the part or side of sth that faces forward; the side of sth that you look at first :

The front of the building was covered with ivy.

The book has a picture of Rome on the front .

The front of the car was badly damaged.

—see also shopfront , Y-fronts

2.

the front [ sing. ] the position that is in the direction that sb/sth is facing :

Keep your eyes to the front and walk straight ahead.

There's a garden at the front of the house.

3.

the front [ sing. ] the part of sth that is furthest forward :

I prefer to travel in the front of the car (= next to the driver) .

The teacher made me move my seat to the front of the classroom.

Write your name in the front of the book (= the first few pages) .

CHEST

4.

sb's front [ sing. ] the part of sb's body that faces forwards; sb's chest :

She was lying on her front.

I spilled coffee down my front.

SIDE OF BUILDING

5.

[ C ] the west, north, south, east, etc. ~ the side of a large building, especially a church, that faces west, north, etc. :

the west front of the cathedral

EDGE OF SEA / LAKE

6.

the front [ sing. ] ( BrE ) the road or area of land along the edge of the sea, a lake or a river :

Couples walked hand in hand along the front.

—see also seafront

IN WAR

7.

[ C , usually sing. ] an area where fighting takes place during a war :

More British troops have been sent to the front.

to serve at the front

fighting a war on two fronts

AREA OF ACTIVITY

8.

[ C ] a particular area of activity :

Things are looking unsettled on the economic front.

Progress has been made on all fronts .

HIDING TRUE FEELINGS

9.

[ sing. ] behaviour that is not genuine, done in order to hide your true feelings or opinions :

Rudeness is just a front for her shyness.

It's not always easy to put on a brave front for the family.

The prime minister stressed the need to present a united front (= show people that all members of the group have the same opinion about things) .

HIDING STH ILLEGAL

10.

[ C , usually sing. ] front (for sth) a person or an organization that is used to hide an illegal or secret activity :

The travel company is just a front for drug trafficking.

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

11.

Front [ sing. ] used in the names of some political organizations :

the Animal Liberation Front

—see also popular front

WEATHER

12.

[ C ] the line where a mass of cold air meets a mass of warm air :

a cold / warm front

IDIOMS

- front and center

- in front

IDIOMS

- in front of

- out front

- up front

—see also upfront

—more at back noun , cash noun , lead (I) verb

■ adjective [ only before noun ]

1.

on or at the front of sth :

front teeth

the front wheels of the car

We had seats in the front row.

an animal's front legs

Let's go through to the front room (= the main room in a house where people sit and entertain guests) .

a front-seat passenger

—compare back , hind adjective

2.

( phonetics ) ( of a vowel ) produced with the front of the tongue in a higher position than the back, for example /i:/ in English

—compare back , central

IDIOMS

- on the front burner

■ verb

FACE STH

1.

front (onto sth) to face sth or be in front of sth; to have the front pointing towards sth :

[ vn ]

The cathedral fronts the city's main square.

[ v ]

The line of houses fronted straight onto the road.

COVER FRONT

2.

[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to have the front covered with sth :

a glass-fronted bookcase

LEAD GROUP

3.

[ vn ] to lead or represent an organization, a group, etc. :

He fronts a multinational company.

A former art student fronted the band (= was the main singer) .

PRESENT TV PROGRAMME

4.

[ vn ] ( BrE ) to present a television programme, a show, etc.

GRAMMAR

5.

[ vn ] ( linguistics ) to give more importance to a part of a sentence by placing it at or near the beginning of the sentence, as in 'That I would like to see.'

PHRASAL VERBS

- front for sb/sth

••

WHICH WORD

in front of / in the front of

In front of can mean the same as outside but not opposite :

I'll meet you in front of / outside your hotel.

There's a bus stop in front of the house (= on the same side of the road) .

There's a bus stop opposite the house (= on the other side of the road) .

In / at the front (of sth) means 'in the most forward part of something':

The driver sits at the front of the bus.

Put the shortest flowers in the front (of the bunch).

••

WORD ORIGIN

Middle English (denoting the forehead): from Old French front (noun), fronter (verb), from Latin frons , front- forehead, front.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.