I. ˈfrənt noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French frunt, front, from Latin front-, frons
Date: 13th century
1.
a. : forehead ; also : the whole face
b. : external and often feigned appearance especially in the face of danger or adversity
2.
a.
(1) : vanguard
(2) : a line of battle
(3) : a zone of conflict between armies
b.
(1) : a stand on an issue : policy
(2) : an area of activity or interest
progress on the educational front
(3) : a movement linking divergent elements to achieve common objectives ; especially : a political coalition
3. : a side of a building ; especially : the side that contains the principal entrance
4.
a. : the forward part or surface
b.
(1) : frontage
(2) : a beach promenade at a seaside resort
c. : dickey 1a
d. : the boundary between two dissimilar air masses
5. archaic : beginning
6.
a.
(1) : a position ahead of a person or of the foremost part of a thing
(2) — used as a call by a hotel desk clerk in summoning a bellhop
b. : a position of leadership or superiority
7.
a. : a person, group, or thing used to mask the identity or true character or activity of the actual controlling agent
b. : a person who serves as the nominal head or spokesman of an enterprise or group to lend it prestige
•
- in front of
- out front
II. verb
Date: 1523
intransitive verb
1. : to have the front or principal side adjacent to something ; also : to have frontage on something
a ten-acre plot front ing on a lake — Current Biography
2. : to serve as a front
front ing for special interests
transitive verb
1.
a. : confront
went to the woods because I wished…to front only the essential facts of life — H. D. Thoreau
b. : to appear before
daily front ed him in some fresh splendor — Alfred Tennyson
2.
a. : to be in front of
a lawn front ing the house
b. : to be the leader of (a musical group)
appeared as a soloist and front ed bands
3. : to face toward or have frontage on
the house front s the street
4. : to supply a front to
front ed the building with bricks
5.
a. : to articulate (a sound) with the tongue farther forward
b. : to move (a word or phrase) to the beginning of a sentence
6. basketball : to play in front of (an opposing player) rather than between the player and the basket
7. : advance 7
front ed him the cash
III. adjective
Date: 1600
1.
a. : of, relating to, or situated at the front
b. : acting as a front
front company
2. : articulated at or toward the front of the oral passage
front vowels
3. : constituting the first nine holes of an 18-hole golf course
• front adverb
IV. abbreviation
frontispiece