forefront en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈfɔːfɹʊnt/ (Northern-England)
- /ˈfoːfɹɐnt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- /ˈfoɹfɹʌnt/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈfoːfɹʌnt/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈfoɾfɾʌnt/ (Scotland)
- /ˈfɔːfɹʌnt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈfoːfɾənt/ (Wales) without the horse–hoarse merger
- /ˈfoəfɹʌnt/ (Eastern-New-England)
- /ˈfɔəfɹʌnt/ (Received-Pronunciation, obsolete)
- /ˈfoːfɹʊnt/ Manchester
- /ˈfɔːfɾənt/ Wales, horse–hoarse merger
- (California) audio
Etymology
From Middle English forefrount, forfrount, forefronte, equivalent to fore- + front.
Meanings
-
The leading position or edge.
That laboratory researches topics at the forefront of technology.
He said that with the world facing a climate crisis, "it is up to those at the forefront of our industry - like Network Rail - to lead by example".
2023 August 9, “Network News: Network Rail under fire for spending thousands of pounds on flights”, in RAIL, number 989, page 15:Today, the pocket calculator is a dying product, a casualty of digitization, which has been relegated to the role of a graphic icon on phone and computer screens rather than an object in its own right, but back in the early 1970s, it was at the forefront of consumer technology.
2012 March 4, Alice Rawsthorn, “Farewell, Pocket Calculator?”, in The New York Times:It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today – with America standing out in the forefront and the UK not far behind.
2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| forefronts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (31)
az ön cərgə (forefront) · de Vordergrund (forefront) · mi haputa (forefront) · eo antaŭparto (forefront) · pt primeiro plano (forefront) · ga urthosach (forefront) · fi eturintama (forefront) · ru аванга́рд (forefront) · ca avantguarda (forefront) · gl primeira liña (forefront) · gl vangarda (forefront) · nl voorgrond (forefront) · fi kärkikasti (forefront) · es primer plano (forefront) · el πρώτη γραμμή (forefront) · el εμπροσθοφυλακή (forefront) · ar طَلِيعَة (forefront) · ru пере́дний край (forefront) · cmn 第一線 /第一线 (forefront) · ja 第一線 (forefront) · ru пере́дний план (forefront) · cmn 前沿 (forefront) · cs popředí (forefront) · it primo piano (forefront) · fr avant-garde (forefront) · el πρωτοπορία (forefront) · fi kärkipää (forefront) · es vanguardia (forefront) · ru передова́я (forefront) · bg преден план (forefront) · fr premier plan (forefront)