/ 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.