From Middle English front, frunt, frount, from Old French front, frunt, from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”). Doublet of frons.
Meanings
Located at or near the front.
The front runner was thirty meters ahead of her nearest competitor.
(comparable) 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).
The English word dress has a front vowel in most dialects.
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. 1995, Ignacio Mas, Jesús Saá-Requejo, Using Financial Futures in Trading and Risk Management, World Bank Publications, page 11:
Going long the front futures contract and holding it a month in the example now produces a loss of $1 per barrel as the futures market converges to spot. And as long as the market is in a carry, this loss will happen continuously over[…] 2021 September 28, Todd E. Petzel, Modern Portfolio Management: Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 471:
The contract that will expire next is called the front contract or front month contract. The other contracts are called the back contracts. In financial and industrial commodities, traders mostly trade only the front month contract. 2003, Larry Harris, Trading and Exchanges: Market Microstructure for Practitioners, OUP USA, →ISBN, page 54:
Contract months : March, June, September and December[.] Minimum price fluctuation : 0.005 Index Point (1/2 basis point) equivalent to USD 12.50 per tick for the front-year Eurodollar futures[…] 2000, The Handbook of World Stock, Derivative & Commodity Exchanges:
To a speculator, a front month future is attractive. Refer to Figure 6-1 to see that both the open interest and the trading volume of the front-month contract exceeds that of all the other contracts. 2016 August 8, Steve Bell, Quantitative Finance For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 113:
Buying the security for the earlier (or “front”) month, and owning (and financing) it for the period ending with the latter (or “back” month) settlement date. 2010 December 30, Frank J. Fabozzi, Anand K. Bhattacharya, William S. Berliner, Mortgage-Backed Securities: Products, Structuring, and Analytical Techniques, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 35:
When the back contract has a higher PVBP than the front contract, fewer back contracts need to be bought or sold than front contracts are sold or bought. The PVBP-neutral roll ratio is simply the ratio of the front and back contracts[…] 2021 March 22, Alexander During, Fixed Income Trading and Risk Management: The Complete Guide, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 324:
This means that in absolute terms, the number of transactions that is triggered by external sources is highest for the front contract of corn. 2021 June 3, Mogens Steffensen, Risks: Feature Papers 2020, MDPI, →ISBN, page 109:
An alternative definition would estimate the slope using the front futures contract and the contract expiring 1 year after (these contracts are relatively liquid in the commodity markets). 2017 October 17, Emmanuel Jurczenko, Factor Investing: From Traditional to Alternative Risk Premia, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 359:
Forms
Spelling
Features
Labels
Source
farthest front
Degree=Sup
lexicographic
furthest front
Degree=Sup
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further front
Degree=Cmp
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farther front
Degree=Cmp
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Antonyms
back · back (antonym(s) of “located near the front”) · last (antonym(s) of “located near the front”) · rear (antonym(s) of “located near the front”) · back (antonym(s) of “phonetics”)
first (located near the front) · forward · fore (located near the front) · prompt · lead (located near the front)
Translations (48)
cmn 前面的 (located at or near the front) · el μπροστινός (located at or near the front) · hu elülső (located at or near the front) · cs přední (located at or near the front) · el εμπρόσθιος (located at or near the front) · sl sprednji (located at or near the front) · fr antérieur (located at or near the front) · de vorderer (located at or near the front) · fi etummainen (located at or near the front) · hu elöl lévő (located at or near the front) · sa अग्र (located at or near the front) · evn дюлэгу (located at or near the front) · la antīcus (located at or near the front) · ko 앞의 (located at or near the front) · eo antaŭa (located at or near the front) · sl prednji (located at or near the front) · ru пере́дний (located at or near the front) · tpi fran (located at or near the front) · sh пре̏дњӣ (located at or near the front) · sh prȅdnjī (located at or near the front) · sk predný (located at or near the front) · fi etu- (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · hu elöl képzett (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · mk преден (located at or near the front) · de vorderer (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · eve дьулэг (located at or near the front) · izh etimäin (located at or near the front) · hu magas hangrendű (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · ja 前面の (located at or near the front) · be пярэ́дні (located at or near the front) · alt алдыҥы (located at or near the front) · hu első (located at or near the front) · nl voor- (located at or near the front) · ru пере́дний (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · grc πρόσθιος (located at or near the front) · pt frontal (located at or near the front) · pl przedni (located at or near the front) · gld дюлуй (located at or near the front) · de Vorderzungen- (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · mi mua (located at or near the front) · de Vorder- (located at or near the front) · bg пре́ден (located at or near the front) · ar أَمَامِيّ (located at or near the front) · fi etinen (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · hu elülső (phonetics: pronounced toward the front of the mouth) · uk пере́дній (located at or near the front) · uk чі́льний (located at or near the front) · wym fieder (located at or near the front)
From Middle English front, frunt, frount, from Old French front, frunt, from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”). Doublet of frons.
Meanings
Used to summon a worker on duty, such as a bellhop.
Harshaw yelled “Front!” again and Miriam started toward him. 1961, Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land:
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. 1948, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen
From Middle English front, frunt, frount, from Old French front, frunt, from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”). Doublet of frons.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves.
(countable, uncountable) The side of a building with the main entrance.
I'll go out the front, and you go out the back.
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. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
Flowering plants cascaded down the fronts of the buildings.
(countable, uncountable) A field of activity.
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. 2012 January 14, Stephen Ledoux, “Behaviorism at 100”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 60:
(countable, uncountable) 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.
Near-synonyms: frontperson, frontman, front man
(countable, uncountable) 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.
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.
(countable, uncountable) An area where armies are engaged in conflict, especially the line of contact.
(countable, uncountable) The lateral space occupied by an element measured from the extremity of one flank to the extremity of the other flank.
(countable, uncountable) The direction of the enemy.
(countable, uncountable) When a combat situation does not exist or is not assumed, the direction toward which the command is faced.
(countable, historical, uncountable) A major military subdivision of the Soviet Army.
(countable, dated, euphemistic, in-plural, uncountable) A woman's breast.
[…] 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." 1998, Alice Munro, The Love of a Good Woman, page 74:
Turning their Backs... ON FRONTS.
CONVIVIAL WAITRESS: D... Don't you want to ogle me?
SICKO MILLENNIAL: No... I hate breasts! 2019 October 15, Ward Sutton as Stan Kelly, “Wings And A Pair”, in The Onion:
She thought—imagined, really—that her, well, that her fronts were too big. She grew up, you see, in the flapper era, when it was fashionable for women to have very flat fronts. 2015, Stephen Birmingham, The Wrong Kind of Money:
(countable, informal, uncountable) An act, show, façade, persona: an intentional and false impression of oneself.
The inhabitants showed a bold front. 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
with smiling fronts encountering c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi]:
You don't need to put on a front. Just be yourself.
He says he likes hip-hop, but I think it's just a front.
(countable, historical, uncountable) That which covers the foremost part of the head: a front piece of false hair worn by women.
like any plain Miss Smith's, who wears a front 1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “(please specify either |book=1 to 9 or the page)”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1857, →OCLC:
(countable, uncountable) The most conspicuous part.
the very head and front of my offending c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
(countable, uncountable) The beginning.
So the faulty bridge was moved to the front of the song, creating in the process one of the most striking opening moments in Beatles music. 2012, Kenneth Womack, Todd F. Davis, Reading the Beatles, page 43:
summer's front 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 102”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
(UK, countable, uncountable) A seafront or coastal promenade.
(countable, obsolete, uncountable) The forehead or brow, the part of the face above the eyes; sometimes, also, the whole face.
His front yet threatens, and his frowns command. c. 1700, Matthew Prior, Seeing the Duke of Ormond's Picture at Sir Godfrey Kneller's:
Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front. c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
Bless'd with his father's front, his mother's tongue. 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:
(countable, dated, qualifier:hotels, slang, uncountable) The bellhop whose turn it is to answer a client's call, which is often the word "front" used as an exclamation.
(countable, in-plural, slang, uncountable) A grill (jewellery worn on front teeth).
I'm saying, man, them fronts? That car? Who is you, Chiron? 2016, 1:41:25, in Barry Jenkins, director, Moonlight, spoken by Kevin (André Holland):
ur سَرْحَد (military: area or line of conflict) · ba фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · th แนวหน้า (military: area or line of conflict) · bg фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · ky майдан (military: area or line of conflict) · nn framside (facing side) · es fachada (intentional and false impression of oneself) · mi pae o te pakanga (military: area or line of conflict) · ka ფრონტი (military: area or line of conflict) · ja 正面 (main entrance side) · es parte delantera (facing side) · hy ռամաճակատ (military: area or line of conflict) · az qabaq (main entrance side) · de Frontseite (facing side) · ru фронт (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · tr ön (facing side) · gl frente (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · cmn 正面 (facing side) · lv priekša (facing side) · sh фро̏нт (military: area or line of conflict) · yue 正面 (facing side) · is vígstöðvar (military: area or line of conflict) · el μέτωπο (military: direction of the enemy) · ba ал (facing side) · tr cephe (military: area or line of conflict) · el μέτωπο (public face of covert organisation) · eo antaŭo (facing side) · yi פֿראָנט (military: area or line of conflict) · fr avant (facing side) · nb fasade (main entrance side) · hy ճակատ (military: direction of the enemy) · uk фаса́д (main entrance side) · eo fronto (military: area or line of conflict) · lo ແນວໜ້າ (military: area or line of conflict) · it difronte (facing side) · lo ແນວ (military: area or line of conflict) · mk фаса́да (main entrance side) · tg фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · fi julkisivu (main entrance side) · az cəbhə (major subdivision of Soviet army) · pt frente (main entrance side) · mi aro (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · gld дюлиэ (facing side) · nl voorkant (facing side) · ja 前線 (military: area or line of conflict) · sk front (military: area or line of conflict) · ja 方面軍 (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · fa-ira جِلُو (facing side) · el μέτωπο (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · ga fronta (military: area or line of conflict) · bg чело́ (facing side) · fr façade (public face of covert organisation) · es frente (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · bg фаса́да (main entrance side) · mrw hadap (facing side) · nb framside (facing side) · fi rintama (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · fi armeijaryhmä (major subdivision of Soviet army) · es fronte (facing side) · ary ڭدّام (facing side) · ca façana principal (main entrance side) · sh frònta (military: area or line of conflict) · km រណសិរ្ស (military: area or line of conflict) · ko 앞 (facing side) · be фаса́д (main entrance side) · cs fronta (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · gd sreath (military: area or line of conflict) · izh eelus (facing side) · ms depan (facing side) · lt priešakys (facing side) · ca cara (facing side) · vi mặt trận (military: area or line of conflict) · ug فرونت (military: area or line of conflict) · ja 戦線 (military: area or line of conflict) · az üz tərəf (main entrance side) · lv fronte (military: area or line of conflict) · cmn 前線 /前线 (military: area or line of conflict) · hy ճակատ (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · it frontale (facing side) · izh esipooli (facing side) · gd aghaidh (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · nb front (facing side) · bcl atubangan (facing side) · sh frȍnt (military: area or line of conflict) · pt front (military: area or line of conflict) · be фронт (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · ru фронт (major subdivision of Soviet army) · cs předek (main entrance side) · gd beulaibh (main entrance side) · hy ճակատ (military: direction toward which the command is faced) · nb front (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · is víglína (military: area or line of conflict) · lt frontas (military: area or line of conflict) · ko 방면군 (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · ca pantalla (public face of covert organisation) · fr front (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · ru атмосфе́рный фронт (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · pl przód (facing side) · tk front (military: area or line of conflict) · nl front (public face of covert organisation) · fi rintama (major subdivision of Soviet army) · az ön (facing side) · de Front (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · nb front (military: area or line of conflict) · fi etupuoli (facing side) · ko 전선 (military: area or line of conflict) · be фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · az cəbhə (military: area or line of conflict) · ru прикры́тие (public face of covert organisation) · uk фронт (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · sv front (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · hi मोर्चा (military: area or line of conflict) · nb fremside (facing side) · izh esi (main entrance side) · fi rintama (military: direction toward which the command is faced) · gl dianteira (facing side) · th ค้านหน้า (facing side) · hy ռազմաճակատ (military: area or line of conflict) · sl sprednji del (military: area or line of conflict) · mi mataihi (main entrance side) · bcl atubangan (main entrance side) · hu eleje (facing side) · ja フロント (public face of covert organisation) · ccc tolo (facing side) · da front (facing side) · ba фронт (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · fi julkisivu (public face of covert organisation) · lv priekšpuse (facing side) · fa-ira مَحاذ (military: area or line of conflict) · nl façade (public face of covert organisation) · de Front (military: direction of the enemy) · fr front (military: area or line of conflict) · de Vorderseite (facing side) · gd aghaidh (facing side) · el μέτωπο (military: area or line of conflict) · ur مورْچَہ (military: area or line of conflict) · ru фаса́д (intentional and false impression of oneself) · nl voorzijde (facing side) · ota جبهه (military: area or line of conflict) · sv framsida (main entrance side) · nb forside (facing side) · kaw harĕp (facing side) · it fronte (military: area or line of conflict) · ky фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · cmn 方面軍 /方面军 (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · zu ubuso (facing side) · cmn 鋒 /锋 (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · de Vorderseite (main entrance side) · ja 前線 (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · nl front (military: area or line of conflict) · ja 前側 (facing side) · es frente (facing side) · cmn 正面 (main entrance side) · da front (military: area or line of conflict) · fr devant (facing side) · ja 表 (main entrance side) · tsg harapan (facing side) · nrf front (military: area or line of conflict) · pt fachada (public face of covert organisation) · it facciata (facing side) · fi rintama (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · he חֲזִית (military: area or line of conflict) · ja 前 (facing side) · my စစ်မျက်နှာ (military: area or line of conflict) · bg фронт (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · kk фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · fi rintama (military: direction of the enemy) · tt фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · ca front (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · fa-ira جَلُو (facing side) · crh aldı (facing side) · es frente (public face of covert organisation) · ca front (military: area or line of conflict) · pt dianteira (facing side) · it fronte (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · sh фро̀нта (military: area or line of conflict) · de Frontmann (public face of covert organisation) · it parte anteriore (facing side) · pt frente (military: area or line of conflict) · cs front (major subdivision of Soviet army) · jv ngarep (facing side) · es tapadera (public face of covert organisation) · uk фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · az fasad (main entrance side) · ur مَحاذِ جَن٘گ (military: area or line of conflict) · nb front (main entrance side) · el πρόσοψη (facing side) · ko 프런트 (public face of covert organisation) · nl front (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · ar جَبْهَة (military: area or line of conflict) · sv front (military: area or line of conflict) · ru фаса́д (main entrance side) · fr façade (main entrance side) · fa-ira فُرونْت (military: area or line of conflict) · fi edusta (facing side) · mk фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · ko 전선 (military: area or line of conflict) · uk фронт (major subdivision of Soviet army) · ar أَمَام (facing side) · uz jabha (military: area or line of conflict) · kk майдан (military: area or line of conflict) · fa-ira جِبْهِه (military: area or line of conflict) · bg фронт (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · de Front (military: area or line of conflict) · pt frente (facing side) · ur مَحاذ (military: area or line of conflict) · es parte anterior (facing side) · ko 정면 (main entrance side) · ro front (military: area or line of conflict) · ms hadapan (facing side) · kmr cepe (military: area or line of conflict) · hy ճակատ (main entrance side) · ko 전선군 (military: lateral space occupied from one flank of a military unit to the other flank) · sq front (military: area or line of conflict) · mn фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · it facciata (public face of covert organisation) · ja 手前 (facing side) · fi säärintama (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · de Frontlinie (military: area or line of conflict) · cmn 方面軍 /方面军 (major subdivision of Soviet army) · hy ֆրոնտ (military: area or line of conflict) · az ön tərəf (main entrance side) · uz front (military: area or line of conflict) · alt алдыҥы (facing side) · sl prednji del (military: area or line of conflict) · de Wetterfront (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · pl przykrywka (public face of covert organisation) · nl voorzijde (main entrance side) · cs fasáda (main entrance side) · gd beulaibh (facing side) · lo ແນວຮົບ (military: area or line of conflict) · ru фронт (military: direction of the enemy) · ru пе́ред (facing side) · is framhlið (facing side) · it avanti (facing side) · es frente (military: area or line of conflict) · az üz (main entrance side) · ca front (facing side) · cmn 戰線 /战线 (military: area or line of conflict) · sv bulvan (public face of covert organisation) · fi etuosa (facing side) · id kedok (public face of covert organisation) · et rinne (military: area or line of conflict) · hy ճակատ (military: area or line of conflict) · fi rintama (military: area or line of conflict) · pl front (military: area or line of conflict) · da forside (facing side) · ru пере́дняя часть (facing side) · it davanti (facing side) · hu front (military: area or line of conflict) · be фронт (major subdivision of Soviet army) · mi arotuki (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · sv framsida (facing side) · az qabaq (facing side) · es parte de adelante (facing side) · ru фронт (military: area or line of conflict) · alt алд (facing side) · id hadapan (facing side) · pt frente (meteorology: interface between airmasses) · de Fassade (intentional and false impression of oneself) · mi mua (facing side) · fi bulvaani (public face of covert organisation) · cs předek (facing side) · arz قدام (facing side) · udm азь (facing side) · sa अग्र (facing side) · nn front (facing side) · ps جبهه (military: area or line of conflict) · es principio (facing side) · dsb prědk (facing side) · cs fronta (military: area or line of conflict) · lt priekis (facing side) · pl front (facing side) · el πρόσοψη (main entrance side) · tg ҷабҳа (military: area or line of conflict) · de Front (main entrance side) · gl frente (facing side) · mi pae o te riri (military: area or line of conflict) · wa divant (facing side) · nl voorkant (main entrance side)
From Middle English front, frunt, frount, from Old French front, frunt, from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”). Doublet of frons.
Meanings
(dated, intransitive) To face (on, to); to be pointed in a given direction.
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. 2010, Ingrid D Rowland, "The Siege of Rome", New York Review of Books, Blog, 26 March
They emerged atop the broad curving steps that fronted on the Street of the Sisters, near the foot of Visenya's Hill. 1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam, published 2011, page 312:
The great gate fronting to the north was about four feet high, and almost two feet wide, through which I could easily creep. 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput):
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. 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 35:
(transitive) To face, be opposite to.
[…]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. 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
She sat on a seat under the alders in the cricket ground, and fronted the evening. 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
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. 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
(transitive) To face up to, to meet head-on, to confront.
But Dagley immediately fronted him, and Fag at his heels growled low […]. 1872, George Eliot, Middlemarch, Part IV, chapter 39:
What well-appointed leader fronts us here? c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
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, 1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
On returning home, he fronted his servant about this grisly discovery. 2001, Richard Flanagan, Gould's Book of Fish, Vintage, published 2016, page 217:
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. 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 6, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
(transitive) To adorn with, at the front; to put on the front.
Three tiers of balconies fronted with roped columns supporting arched openings looked down on the marble hall. 2001, Terry Goodkind, The Pillars of Creation, page 148:
(intransitive, transitive) To pronounce with the tongue in a front position.
Finally, the pretonic -e- of this *tsengòrra would have been fronted, yielding *tsingòrra. 2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 214:
The velar plosives are often fronted through the influence of a following front vowel, and retracted through the influence of a following back vowel. 2005, Paul Skandera, Peter Burleigh, A Manual of English Phonetics and Phonology, page 48:
(transitive) To move (a word or clause) to the start of a sentence (or series of adjectives, etc).
[…] 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, ... 2001, Arthur J. Holmer, Jan-Olof Svantesson, Åke Viberg, Proceedings of the 18th Scandinavian Conference of Linguistics:
A problem facing any syntactic analysis of hyperbaton is that nonconstituent strings are fronted […] In cases where the adjective is fronted with the determiner, the determiner is not doubled […] 2010, George Melville Bolling, Bernard Bloch, Language:
(intransitive, slang) To act as a front (for); to cover (for).
Everybody knew Skopas fronted for the fight mob even though he was officially the arena manager. 2007, Harold Robbins, A Stone for Danny Fisher, page 183:
(transitive) To lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.).
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. 2009 September 1, Mark Sweney, The Guardian:
(ambitransitive, qualifier:multiplicity) 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.
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. 2018, Eric Yarbrough, Transgender Mental Health, page 160:
(colloquial, transitive) To provide money or financial assistance in advance to.
I'm prepared to say that I fronted you the money for a business deal with me, and the investment paid off brilliantly. 2004, Danielle Steele, Ransom, page 104:
(intransitive, slang) To assume false or disingenuous appearances.
Boy don't try to front, / I-I know just-just what you are, are-are. 2008, Briscoe/Akinyemi, ‘Womanizer’
No matter how hard she fronted in the coming years, Carmiesha could never forget that she had given birth and had a child in this world. Even when she tried not to remember, she still couldn’t forget. 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 101:
You know damned straight what this is about, or you ain't as smart as you been frontin'. 2008, Markus Naerheim, The City, page 531:
What's with these homies dissin' my girl? / Why do they gotta front? 1994, Rivers Cuomo, “Buddy Holly”, performed by Weezer:
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. 1993 November 19, Bobby Hill, “Mad Real”, in Washington City Paper, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2013:
(slang, transitive) To deceive or attempt to deceive someone with false or disingenuous appearances (on).
You think that you can front when revelation comes? / You can't front on that 1992, “So What'cha Want”, performed by The Beastie Boys:
(transitive) To appear before.
to front court
(intransitive, qualifier:African-American Vernacular, slang, transitive) To act cocky, disrespectful and aggressive; to confront (someone).
fi maksaa ennakkoon (to provide money or financial assistance in advance) · fi johtaa (to lead or be the spokesperson of a group) · fi edustaa (to lead or be the spokesperson of a group) · de etwas vorspielen (assume false or disingenuous appearances) · fi heittäytyä koppavaksi (assume false or disingenuous appearances) · fr porte-parole (to lead or be the spokesperson of a group) · de fingieren (assume false or disingenuous appearances) · de etwas vormachen (assume false or disingenuous appearances) · es fingir (assume false or disingenuous appearances) · es aparentar (assume false or disingenuous appearances) · fi kopeilla (assume false or disingenuous appearances)