front

noun

• 1the side or part of an object that presents itself to view or that is normally seen or used first; the most forward part of something:a page at the front of the book had been torn out he sealed the envelope and wrote on the front
• [in singular] the position directly ahead of someone or something; the most forward position or place:she quickly turned her head to face the front
• the forward-facing part of a person’s body, on the opposite side to their back:she rolled over on to her front
• the part of a garment covering a person’s front:porridge slopped from the tray on to his shirt front
• informal a woman’s bust or cleavage: get your eyes off my front, meathead
• any face of a building, especially that of the main entrance:the west front of the Cathedral
• chiefly Britishshort for seafront or waterfront.

• 2the foremost line or part of an armed force; the furthest position that an army has reached and where the enemy is or may be engaged:his regiment was immediately sent to the front
• the direction towards which a line of troops faces when formed.
• a particular formation of troops for battle: the Spartans preserving an even and unbroken front
• a particular situation or sphere of operation:there was some good news on the jobs front
• [often in names] an organized political group:the National Progressive Patriotic Front
• Meteorology the forward edge of an advancing mass of air. See cold front, warm front.

• 3 [in singular] an appearance or form of behaviour assumed by a person to conceal their genuine feelings:she put on a brave front
• a person or organization serving as a cover for subversive or illegal activities:the CIA identified the company as a front for a terrorist group

• 4 [mass noun] boldness and confidence of manner:he’s got a bit of talent and a lot of front

• 5 archaic a person’s face or forehead: the mark of fool set on his front

adjective

• 1of or at the front:the front cover of the magazine she was in the front garden

• 2 Phonetics (of a vowel sound) formed by raising the tongue, excluding the blade and tip, towards the hard palate.

verb

• 1(of a building or piece of land) have the front facing or directed towards:the flats which fronted Crow Road [no object]:both properties fronted on to the beach
• be or stand in front of:they reached the hedge fronting the garden
• archaic stand face to face with; confront: Tom fronted him with unwavering eyes

• 2provide (something) with a front or facing of a particular type or material:a metal box fronted by an alloy panel (as adjective, in combination -fronted)a glass-fronted bookcase

• 3lead or be the most prominent member in (an organization, group, or activity):the group is fronted by two girl singers
• present or host (a television or radio programme): she is set to front a new BBC show

• 4 [no object] act as a front or cover for illegal or secret activity:he fronted for them in illegal property deals

• 5 [no object] (often front up) Australian/NZ make an appearance; turn up:parents get a bit worried if you don’t front up now and then
• [with object] archaic or Australian/NZ stand face to face with; confront: Tom fronted him with unwavering eyes

• 6 Phonetics articulate (a vowel sound) with the tongue further forward: the three velar consonants are normally fronted to some degree (as noun fronting)the fronting of /au/ was completed a couple of generations ago

• 7 Linguistics place (a sentence element) at the beginning of a sentence instead of in its usual position, typically for emphasis or as a feature of some dialects, as in horrible it was.