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front

fronts; fronting; fronted

The front is the side that faces outward. If you are in a battle on the eastern front, then you are in the battle the farthest east of any part of the war.

Front comes from the Latin word for forehead, and it means the side of something facing out, or the part of something (a body, a weather system, a war), that's advancing into a new territory, or frontier. A front man is someone used as a cover for questionable activity. Similarly, a front can be an activity used as a cover for some other, questionable, activity, like a Laundromat that's really a front for a mafia headquarters.

Definitions of front
  1. noun
    the side that is forward or prominent
    synonyms: forepart, front end
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    Antonyms:
    back end, backside, rear
    the side of an object that is opposite its front
    types:
    forefront, head
    the part in the front or nearest the viewer
    type of:
    face, side
    a surface forming part of the outside of an object
  2. noun
    the side that is seen or that goes first
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    Antonyms:
    back, rear
    the side that goes last or is not normally seen
    types:
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    bow, fore, prow, stem
    front part of a vessel or aircraft
    facade, frontage, frontal
    the face or front of a building
    face
    the side upon which the use of a thing depends (usually the most prominent surface of an object)
    frontispiece
    front illustration facing the title page of a book
    nose
    a front that resembles a human nose (especially the front of an aircraft)
    nose
    the front or forward projection of a tool or weapon
    nose cone, ogive
    front consisting of the conical head of a missile or rocket that protects the payload from heat during its passage through the atmosphere
    shirtfront
    the front of a shirt (usually the part not covered by a jacket)
    shopfront, storefront
    the front side of a store facing the street; usually contains display windows
    clock dial, clock face
    the face of a clock showing hours and minutes of the day
    dial
    the face of a timepiece; graduated to show the hours
    frontispiece
    an ornamental facade
    plastron
    the front of man's dress shirt
    plastron
    the ornamental front of a woman's bodice or shirt
    type of:
    side
    an extended outer surface of an object
  3. noun
    the immediate proximity of someone or something
    “he was well behaved in front of company”
    synonyms: presence
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    type of:
    proximity
    the region close around a person or thing
  4. noun
    the outward appearance of a person
    “he put up a bold front
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    type of:
    appearance
    a mental representation
  5. noun
    a sphere of activity involving effort
    “the Japanese were active last week on the diplomatic front
    “they advertise on many different fronts
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    type of:
    area, arena, domain, field, orbit, sphere
    a particular environment or walk of life
  6. adjective
    relating to or located in the front
    “the front lines”
    “the front porch”
    Synonyms:
    anterior
    of or near the head end or toward the front plane of a body
    advance, advanced, in advance
    situated ahead or going before
    foremost, frontmost
    preceding all others in spatial position
    frontal, head-on
    meeting front to front
    first
    preceding all others in time or space or degree
    fore
    situated at or toward the bow of a vessel
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    Antonyms:
    back
    related to or located at the back
    posterior
    located at or near or behind a part or near the end of a structure
    backmost, hindermost, hindmost, rearmost
    located farthest to the rear
    rear, rearward
    located in or toward the back or rear
    aft
    (nautical, aeronautical) situated at or toward the stern or tail
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  7. verb
    be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to
    synonyms: face, look
    face
    be opposite
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    Antonyms:
    back
    be in back of
    types:
    confront
    be face to face with
    type of:
    lie
    be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
  8. noun
    the part of something that is nearest to the normal viewer
    “he walked to the front of the stage”
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    Antonyms:
    back, rear
    the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer
    type of:
    place, position
    the particular portion of space occupied by something
  9. noun
    a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals
    “he led the national liberation front
    synonyms: movement, social movement
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    types:
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    Fighting French, Free French
    a French movement during World War II that was organized in London by Charles de Gaulle to fight for the liberation of France from German control and for the restoration of the republic
    art movement, artistic movement
    a group of artists who agree on general principles
    Boy Scouts
    an international (but decentralized) movement started in 1908 in England with the goal of teaching good citizenship to boys
    Civil Rights movement
    movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s and led primarily by Blacks in an effort to establish the civil rights of individual Black citizens
    common front
    a movement in which several individuals or groups with different interests join together
    cultural movement
    a group of people working together to advance certain cultural goals
    ecumenism, oecumenism
    a movement promoting union between religions (especially between Christian churches)
    falun gong
    a spiritual movement that began in China in the latter half of the 20th century and is based on Buddhist and Taoist teachings and practices
    political movement
    a group of people working together to achieve a political goal
    reform movement
    a movement intended to bring about social and humanitarian reforms
    religious movement
    a movement intended to bring about religious reforms
    Zionism, Zionist movement
    a movement of world Jewry that arose late in the 19th century with the aim of creating a Jewish state in Palestine
    Abstract Expressionism, action painting
    a New York school of painting characterized by freely created abstractions; the first important school of American painting to develop independently of European styles
    Ash Can, Ashcan school
    early 20th-century United States painting; portrays realistic and sordid scenes of city life
    Impressionism, impressionism
    a school of late 19th century French painters who pictured appearances by strokes of unmixed colors to give the impression of reflected light
    Pop Art
    a school of art that emerged in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and became prevalent in the United States and the United Kingdom in the 1960s; it imitated the techniques of commercial art (as the soup cans of Andy Warhol) and the styles of popular culture and the mass media
    Islamism
    a fundamentalist Islamic revivalist movement generally characterized by moral conservatism and the literal interpretation of the Koran and the attempt to implement Islamic values in all aspects of life
    Ashcan School, Eight
    a group of United States painters founded in 1907 and noted for their realistic depictions of sordid aspects of city life
    pointillism
    a school of painters who used a technique of painting with tiny dots of pure colors that would blend in the viewer's eye; developed by Georges Seurat and his followers late in 19th century France
    PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization
    a political movement uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine; when formed in 1964 it was a terrorist organization dominated by Yasser Arafat's al-Fatah; in 1968 Arafat became chairman; received recognition by the United Nations and by Arab states in 1974 as a government in exile; has played a largely political role since the creation of the Palestine National Authority
    Sinn Fein
    an Irish republican political movement founded in 1905 to promote independence from England and unification of Ireland; became the political branch of the Irish Republican Army
    Red Guard
    a radical political movement by Chinese youths who espoused Maoist principles
    syndicalism
    a radical political movement that advocates bringing industry and government under the control of labor unions
    FTO, foreign terrorist organization, terrorist group, terrorist organization
    a political movement that uses terror as a weapon to achieve its goals
    art deco, deco
    a style of design that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s; marked by stylized forms and geometric designs adapted to mass production
    art nouveau
    a French school of art and architecture popular in the 1890s; characterized by stylized natural forms and sinuous outlines of such objects as leaves and vines and flowers
    avant-garde, new wave, van, vanguard
    any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
    constructivism
    an abstractionist artistic movement in Russia after World War I; industrial materials were used to construct nonrepresentational objects
    suprematism
    a geometric abstractionist movement originated by Kazimir Malevich in Russia that influenced constructivism
    cubism
    an artistic movement in France beginning in 1907 that featured surfaces of geometrical planes
    dada, dadaism
    a nihilistic art movement (especially in painting) that flourished in Europe early in the 20th century; based on irrationality and negation of the accepted laws of beauty
    expressionism
    an art movement early in the 20th century; the artist's subjective expression of inner experiences was emphasized; an inner feeling was expressed through a distorted rendition of reality
    fauvism
    an art movement launched in 1905 whose work was characterized by bright and nonnatural colors and simple forms; influenced the expressionists
    futurism
    an artistic movement in Italy around 1910 that tried to express the energy and values of the machine age
    Hudson River school, romantic realism
    the first coherent school of American art; active from 1825 to 1870; painted wilderness landscapes of the Hudson River valley and surrounding New England
    imagism
    a movement by American and English poets early in the 20th century in reaction to Victorian sentimentality; used common speech in free verse with clear concrete imagery
    lake poets
    English poets at the beginning of the 19th century who lived in the Lake District and were inspired by it
    luminism
    an artistic movement in the United States that was derived from the Hudson River school; active from 1850 to 1870; painted realistic landscapes in a style that pictured atmospheric light and the use of aerial perspective
    minimal art, minimalism, reductivism
    an art movement in sculpture and painting that began in the 1950s and emphasized extreme simplification of form and color
    naturalism, realism
    an artistic movement in 19th century France; artists and writers strove for detailed realistic and factual description
    neoromanticism
    an art movement based on a revival of Romanticism in art and literature
    New Wave, Nouvelle Vague
    an art movement in French cinema in the 1960s
    secession, sezession
    an Austrian school of art and architecture parallel to the French art nouveau in the 1890s
    surrealism
    a 20th century movement of artists and writers (developing out of dadaism) who used fantastic images and incongruous juxtapositions in order to represent unconscious thoughts and dreams
    symbolism
    an artistic movement in the late 19th century that tried to express abstract or mystical ideas through the symbolic use of images
    Age of Reason, Enlightenment
    a movement in Europe from about 1650 until 1800 that advocated the use of reason and individualism instead of tradition and established doctrine
    labor, labor movement, trade union movement
    an organized attempt by workers to improve their status by united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders of this movement
    Akhbari
    a religious movement by Arab Shiite Muslims in 17th century Iraq that is opposed to the Usuli
    Usuli
    a religious movement by Persian Shiite Muslims in 17th century Iran that is opposed to the Akhbari
    Counter Reformation
    the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to the Reformation reaffirming the veneration of saints and the authority of the Pope (to which Protestants objected); many leaders were Jesuits
    ecumenical movement
    a movement aimed to promote understanding and cooperation among Christian churches; aimed ultimately at universal Christian unity
    Gallicanism
    a religious movement originating among the French Roman Catholic clergy that favored the restriction of papal control and the achievement by each nation of individual administrative autonomy of the church
    Chabad, Chabad-Lubavitch, Lubavitch, Lubavitch movement
    a large missionary Hasidic movement known for their hospitality, technological expertise, optimism and emphasis on religious study
    Oxford movement
    19th-century movement in the Church of England opposing liberal tendencies
    Pietism
    17th and 18th-century German movement in the Lutheran Church stressing personal piety and devotion
    Protestant Reformation, Reformation
    a religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches
    Taleban, Taliban
    a fundamentalist Islamic militia; in 1995 the Taliban militia took over Afghanistan and in 1996 took Kabul and set up an Islamic government
    Nation of Islam
    a group of militant Black Americans who profess Islamic religious beliefs and advocate independence for Black Americans
    humanism
    the cultural movement of the Renaissance; based on classical studies
    type of:
    social group
    people sharing some social relation
  10. noun
    the line along which opposing armies face each other
    synonyms: battlefront, front line
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    type of:
    line
    a fortified position (especially one marking the most forward position of troops)
  11. noun
    (meteorology) the atmospheric phenomenon created at the boundary between two different air masses
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    types:
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    warm front
    the front of an advancing mass of warmer air
    cold front, polar front
    the front of an advancing mass of colder air
    occluded front, occlusion
    (meteorology) a composite front when colder air surrounds a mass of warm air and forces it aloft
    squall line
    a cold front along which squalls or thunderstorms are likely
    type of:
    atmospheric phenomenon
    a physical phenomenon associated with the atmosphere
  12. noun
    something or someone used as a cover for some questionable activity
    synonyms: figurehead, front man, nominal head, straw man, strawman
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    type of:
    beguiler, cheat, cheater, deceiver, slicker, trickster
    someone who leads you to believe something that is not true
  13. verb
    confront bodily
    synonyms: breast
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    type of:
    confront, face
    oppose, as in hostility or a competition
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘front'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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