front

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English [edit]

WOTD – 2 September 2009    
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Etymology [edit]

From Old French front (noun), fronter (verb), from Latin frons (“forehead”).

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

front (plural fronts)

  1. The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves.
  2. The side of a building with the main entrance.
  3. A field of activity.
    • 2012 January 1, Stephen Ledoux, “Behaviorism at 100”, American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 60: 
      Becoming more aware of the progress that scientists have made on behavioral fronts can reduce the risk that other natural scientists will resort to mystical agential accounts when they exceed the limits of their own disciplinary training.
  4. A person or institution acting as the public face of some other, covert group.
    Officially it's a dry-cleaning shop, but everyone knows it's a front for the mafia.
  5. (meteorology) The interface or transition zone between two airmasses of different density, often resulting in precipitation. Since the temperature distribution is the most important regulator of atmospheric density, a front almost invariably separates airmasses of different temperature.
  6. (military) An area where armies are engaged in conflict, especially the line of contact.
  7. (military) The lateral space occupied by an element measured from the extremity of one flank to the extremity of the other flank.
  8. (military) The direction of the enemy.
  9. (military) When a combat situation does not exist or is not assumed, the direction toward which the command is faced.
  10. (obsolete) A major military subdivision of the Soviet Army.
  11. (informal) An act, show, façade, persona: an intentional and false impression of oneself.
    He says he likes hip-hop, but I think it's just a front.
    You don't need to put on a front. Just be yourself.
  12. (UK) a seafront or coastal promenade.

Synonyms [edit]

Antonyms [edit]

Derived terms [edit]

Derived terms

Hyponyms [edit]

  • (The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves): (nautical) bow (of a ship)

Translations [edit]

facing side
main entrance side
public face of covert organisation
meteorology: interface between airmasses
military: area or line of conflict
military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank
military: direction of the enemy
military: direction toward which the command is faced
major subdivision of Soviet army
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Adjective [edit]

front (not comparable)

  1. Located at or near the front.
    The front runner was thirty meters ahead of her nearest competitor.
  2. (comparable) (phonetics) Of a vowel pronounced near the tip of the tongue.

Synonyms [edit]

Antonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

located at or near the front
phonetics: of a vowel pronounced near the tip of the tongue — see front vowel

Verb [edit]

front (third-person singular simple present fronts, present participle fronting, simple past and past participle fronted)

  1. (intransitive, dated) To face (on, to); to be pointed in a given direction.
    • 1726, Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part I, Chapter I
      The great gate fronting to the north was about four feet high, and almost two feet wide, through which I could easily creep.
    • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin 2011, p. 35:
      The door fronted on a narrow run, like a footbridge over a gully, that filled the gap between the house wall and the edge of the bank.
    • 1999, George RR Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam 2011, p. 312:
      They emerged atop the broad curving steps that fronted on the Street of the Sisters, near the foot of Visenya's Hill.
    • 2010, Ingrid D Rowland, "The Siege of Rome", New York Review of Books, Blog, 26 Mar 2010:
      The palazzo has always fronted on a bus stop – but this putative man of the people has kindly put an end to that public service.
  2. (transitive) To face, be opposite to.
    • 1749, John Cleland, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, Penguin 1985, p. 66:
      After saluting her, he led her to a couch that fronted us, where they both sat down, and the young Genoese helped her to a glass of wine, with some Naples biscuit on a salver.
    • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice:
      [...] down they ran into the dining-room, which fronted the lane, in quest of this wonder; it was two ladies stopping in a low phaeton at the garden gate.
    • 1913, DH Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Penguin 2006, p. 49:
      She sat on a seat under the alders in the cricket ground, and fronted the evening.
  3. (transitive) To face up to, to meet head-on, to confront.
    • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.6:
      those that have willed to attaine to some greater excellence, have not beene content, at home, and at rest to expect the rigors of fortune [...]; but have rather gone to meet and front her before, and witting-earnestly cast themselves to the triall of the hardest difficulties.
    • 1623, William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 2:
      What well-appointed leader fronts us here?
  4. (transitive) To adorn the front of; to have on the front.
    • 2001, Terry Goodkind, The Pillars of Creation, p. 148:
      Three tiers of balconies fronted with roped columns supporting arched openings looked down on the marble hall.
  5. (phonetics, transitive, intransitive) To pronounce with the tongue in a front position.
    • 2005, Paul Skandera / Peter Burleigh, A Manual of English Phonetics and Phonology, p. 48:
      The velar plosives are often fronted through the influence of a following front vowel, and retracted through the influence of a following back vowel.
  6. (linguistics, transitive) To move (a word or clause) to the start of a sentence.
  7. (intransitive, slang) To act as a front (for); to cover (for).
    • 2007, Harold Robbins, A Stone for Danny Fisher, p. 183:
      Everybody knew Skopas fronted for the fight mob even though he was officially the arena manager.
  8. (transitive) To lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.).
    • 2009 September 1, Mark Sweney, The Guardian:
      Ray Winstone is fronting a campaign for the Football Association that aims to stop pushy parents shouting abuse at their children during the grassroots football season.
  9. (transitive, colloquial) To provide money or financial assistance in advance to.
    • 2004, Danielle Steele, Ransom, p. 104:
      I'm prepared to say that I fronted you the money for a business deal with me, and the investment paid off brilliantly.
  10. (intransitive) To assume false or disingenuous appearances.
    • 1993 November 19, Bobby Hill, “Mad Real”:
      So when I tell people where I'm from and check their reactions, I know in my heart I'm just frontin’. Because the way and where I lived then pales when compared to the way and where many youths are living today.
    • 2008, Briscoe/Akinyemi, ‘Womanizer’:
      Boy don't try to front, / I-I know just-just what you are, are-are.
    • 2008 Markus Naerheim, The City p. 531
      You know damned straight what this is about, or you ain't as smart as you been frontin'.
  11. to appear before, as in to front court.

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

to lead or be the spokesperson of a group
to provide money or financial assistance in advance
to assume a haughty manner, especially as a pretense

Statistics [edit]

Catalan [edit]

Noun [edit]

front m (plural fronts)

  1. front
  2. forehead

Czech [edit]

Noun [edit]

front m

  1. front (subdivision of the Soviet army)

French [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

front m (plural fronts)

  1. (anatomy) forehead
  2. (military) front

See also [edit]

Jèrriais [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Old French front, from Latin frōns, frontem.

Noun [edit]

front m (plural fronts)

  1. (military) front

Old French [edit]

Noun [edit]

front m (oblique plural fronz, nominative singular fronz, nominative plural front)

  1. forehead
  2. (military) front

Serbo-Croatian [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /frônt/

Noun [edit]

frȍnt m (Cyrillic spelling фро̏нт)

  1. (military) front

Declension [edit]

    declension of front
singular plural
nominative frȍnt fròntovi
genitive fronta frontova
dative frontu frontovima
accusative front frontove
vocative fronte frontovi
locative frontu frontovima
instrumental frontom frontovima

Swedish [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

front c

  1. The front end or side of something.
    Bilen hade fått en ful buckla på fronten.
    "There was an ugly bump on the front of the car."
  2. front - the area were two armies are fighting each other.
    På västfronten intet nytt (All Quiet on the Western Front, book by Erich Maria Remarque)
  3. front - area were hot and cold air meet
  4. front - one aspect of a larger undertaking which is temporarily seen as a separate undertaking in order to evaluate its progress in relationship to the whole.

Declension [edit]

Declension of front
singular plural
Common indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative front fronten fronter fronterna
genitive fronts frontens fronters fronternas

Derived terms [edit]

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