front Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun the side that is forward or prominent
forepart; front end.
noun the line along which opposing armies face each other
front line; battlefront.
noun the outward appearance of a person
- he put up a bold front
noun the side that is seen or that goes first
noun a person used as a cover for some questionable activity
figurehead; straw man; nominal head; strawman; front man.
noun a sphere of activity involving effort
- the Japanese were active last week on the diplomatic front
- they advertise on many different fronts
noun (meteorology) the atmospheric phenomenon created at the boundary between two different air masses
noun the immediate proximity of someone or something
presence.
- she blushed in his presence
- he sensed the presence of danger
- he was well behaved in front of company
noun the part of something that is nearest to the normal viewer
- he walked to the front of the stage
noun a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals
social movement; movement.
- he was a charter member of the movement
- politicians have to respect a mass movement
- he led the national liberation front
verb be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to
look; face.
- The house looks north
- My backyard look onto the pond
- The building faces the park
verb confront bodily
breast.
- breast the storm
adjective relating to or located in the front
- the front lines
- the front porch

F. frant forehead, L. frons, frontis; perh. akin to E. brow.

The forehead or brow, the part of the face above the eyes; sometimes, also, the whole face.
Bless'd with his father's front, his mother's tongue. Pope.

Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front. Shak.

His front yet threatens, and his frowns command. Prior.
The forehead, countenance, or personal presence, as expressive of character or temper, and especially, of boldness of disposition, sometimes of impudence; seeming; as, a bold front; a hardened front.
With smiling fronts encountering. Shak.

The inhabitants showed a bold front. Macaulay.
The part or surface of anything which seems to look out, or to be directed forward; the fore or forward part; the foremost rank; the van; -- the opposite to back or rear; as, the front of a house; the front of an army.
Had he his hurts before? Ay, on the front. Shak.
A position directly before the face of a person, or before the foremost part of a thing; as, in front of un person, of the troops, or of a house.
The most conspicuous part.
The very head and front of my offending. Shak.
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 s front. Mrs. Browning.
The beginning. "Summer's front." Shak.

Of or relating to the front or forward part; having a position in front; foremost; as, a front view.

imperfect & past participle Fronted; present participle & verbal noun Fronting

To oppose face to face; to oppose directly; to meet in a hostile manner.
You four shall front them in the narrow lane. Shak.
To appear before; to meet.
[Enid] daily fronted him In some fresh splendor. Tennyson.
To face toward; to have the front toward; to confront; as, the house fronts the street.
And then suddenly front the changed reality. J. Morley.
To stand opposed or opposite to, or over against as, his house fronts the church.
To adorn in front; to supply a front to; as, to front a house with marble; to front a head with laurel.
Yonder walls, that pertly front your town. Shak.

To have or turn the face or front in any direction; as, the house fronts toward the east.