Front

/fɹʌnt/ adj, intj, noun, verb, slang

adj, intj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves.
  • Grammar: front is listed as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: battlefront, forepart, accented, aceldama.
  • Useful contrasts: last, aftermost, arse.
  • Usage evidence: They are waiting for you in front of the door.

How to use "front"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "front" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "front" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "front" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "front" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "front" is acting as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "battlefront" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "front", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the side that is seen or that goes first wordnet
  3. 3
    The side of a building with the main entrance. countable, uncountable

    "Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path[…]. It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights."

  4. 4
    the outward appearance of a person wordnet
  5. 5
    A field of activity. countable, uncountable

    "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."

Show 25 more definitions
  1. 6
    a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals wordnet
  2. 7
    A person or institution acting as the public face of some other, covert group. countable, uncountable

    "Near-synonyms: frontperson, frontman, front man"

  3. 8
    the side that is forward or prominent wordnet
  4. 9
    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. countable, uncountable

    "We need to take the clothes off the line. The news reported a front is coming in from the east, and we can expect heavy rain and maybe hail."

  5. 10
    the line along which opposing armies face each other wordnet
  6. 11
    An area where armies are engaged in conflict, especially the line of contact. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    the part of something that is nearest to the normal viewer wordnet
  8. 13
    The lateral space occupied by an element measured from the extremity of one flank to the extremity of the other flank. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    the immediate proximity of someone or something wordnet
  10. 15
    The direction of the enemy. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    a person used as a cover for some questionable activity wordnet
  12. 17
    When a combat situation does not exist or is not assumed, the direction toward which the command is faced. countable, uncountable
  13. 18
    (meteorology) the atmospheric phenomenon created at the boundary between two different air masses wordnet
  14. 19
    A major military subdivision of the Soviet Army. countable, historical, uncountable
  15. 20
    a sphere of activity involving effort wordnet
  16. 21
    Cheek; boldness; impudence. countable, dated, uncountable
  17. 22
    A woman's breast. countable, dated, euphemistic, in-plural, uncountable

    "[…] there was one bare breast sticking out, the tip of it disappearing into Enid's father's mouth. She had told her mother about this in perfect certainty that she had seen it. She said, "One of her fronts was stuck in Daddy's mouth.""

  18. 23
    An act, show, façade, persona: an intentional and false impression of oneself. countable, informal, uncountable

    "He says he likes hip-hop, but I think it's just a front."

  19. 24
    That which covers the foremost part of the head: a front piece of false hair worn by women. countable, historical, uncountable

    "like any plain Miss Smith's, who wears a front"

  20. 25
    The most conspicuous part. countable, uncountable

    "the very head and front of my offending"

  21. 26
    The beginning. countable, uncountable

    "summer's front"

  22. 27
    A seafront or coastal promenade. UK, countable, uncountable
  23. 28
    The forehead or brow, the part of the face above the eyes; sometimes, also, the whole face. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "Bless'd with his father's front, his mother's tongue."

  24. 29
    The bellhop whose turn it is to answer a client's call, which is often the word "front" used as an exclamation. countable, dated, slang, uncountable
  25. 30
    A grill (jewellery worn on front teeth). countable, in-plural, slang, uncountable

    "I'm saying, man, them fronts? That car? Who is you, Chiron?"

Verb
  1. 1
    To face (on, to); to be pointed in a given direction. dated, intransitive

    "The great gate fronting to the north was about four feet high, and almost two feet wide, through which I could easily creep."

  2. 2
    confront bodily wordnet
  3. 3
    To face, be opposite to. transitive

    "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."

  4. 4
    be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to wordnet
  5. 5
    To face up to, to meet head-on, to confront. transitive

    "Know you not Gaueston hath store of golde, Which may in Ireland purchase him such friends, As he will front the mightiest of vs all,"

Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    To adorn with, at the front; to put on the front. transitive

    "Three tiers of balconies fronted with roped columns supporting arched openings looked down on the marble hall."

  2. 7
    To pronounce with the tongue in a front position. intransitive, transitive

    "The velar plosives are often fronted through the influence of a following front vowel, and retracted through the influence of a following back vowel."

  3. 8
    To move (a word or clause) to the start of a sentence (or series of adjectives, etc). transitive

    "[…] in the clause, only the adjective may be fronted; but if both a past participle and a verbal particle are present, either may be fronted. Topicalization, in which maximal projections are fronted to express pragmatics such as contrast, emphasis, ..."

  4. 9
    To act as a front (for); to cover (for). intransitive, slang

    "Everybody knew Skopas fronted for the fight mob even though he was officially the arena manager."

  5. 10
    To lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.). transitive

    "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."

  6. 11
    Of an alter in a person with multiplicity (especially in dissociative identity disorder): to be the currently actively presenting member of (a system), in control of the person's body. ambitransitive

    "Fronting can be understood as a representation of who controls the system, that is, the person to whom you are speaking. Emilia was typically the person fronting her system."

  7. 12
    To provide money or financial assistance in advance to. colloquial, transitive

    "I'm prepared to say that I fronted you the money for a business deal with me, and the investment paid off brilliantly."

  8. 13
    To assume false or disingenuous appearances. intransitive, slang

    "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."

  9. 14
    To deceive or attempt to deceive someone with false or disingenuous appearances (on). slang, transitive

    "You think that you can front when revelation comes? / You can't front on that"

  10. 15
    To appear before. transitive

    "to front court"

  11. 16
    To act cocky, disrespectful and aggressive; to confront (someone). intransitive, slang, transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Located at or near the front.

    "The front runner was thirty meters ahead of her nearest competitor."

  2. 2
    Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the front of the mouth, near the hard palate (most often describing a vowel). comparable

    "The English word dress has a front vowel in most dialects."

  3. 3
    Closest or nearest, of a set of futures contracts which expire at particular times, or of the times they expire; (typically, the front month or front year is the next calendar month or year after the current one).

    "Contracts are available for every month in the front year but do not extend over a year."

Adjective
  1. 1
    relating to or located in the front wordnet
Intj
  1. 1
    Used to summon a worker on duty, such as a bellhop.

    "Front, boy. Front, boy. Front, boy. Front, boy. You four boys show Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth and their seven—-or so—-Irishmen to 503, 504, 505, 506, and 507."

Synonyms

All synonyms
battlefrontforepartaccentedaceldamaact foracting

Example

"They are waiting for you in front of the door."

Common questions

What does "front" mean?

The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves.

What is a synonym for "front"?

Common synonyms include: battlefront, forepart, accented, aceldama, act for, acting.

How do you use "front" in a sentence?

They are waiting for you in front of the door.

How do you pronounce "front"?

Pronounced /fɹʌnt/.

Etymology

From Middle English front, frunt, frount, from Old French front, frunt, from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”). Doublet of frons.

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Synonyms

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