Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

front

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun British English pronunciation: front /frʌnt/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularfront
pluralfronts
 
  1. 1
    [countable] [often singular] the surface of something that faces forwards

    house/shop fronts (=the parts that face the road)

    the front of something:

    Attach a recent photograph to the front of your application.

    on the front:

    a book with a picture of a tiger on the front

    down the front:

    The dress had buttons down the front.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
    1. a.
      [countable] the part of your body that faces forwards, especially your chest

      I always sleep on my front.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
    2. b.
      [singular/uncountable] the area outside the part of a building that faces forwards

      Go round to the front and I’ll let you in.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
    3. c.
      [countable] an outer wall of a large building that faces in a particular direction
      the north/south/east/west front of something:

      Monet’s famous series of paintings of the west front of Rouen cathedral

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
  2. 2

    the front

     the part of something that is nearest the direction it faces

    The glasses are in the cabinet near the front.

    in/at the front (of something):

    Tom was sitting at the front of the bus.

    the man at the front of the queue

    If you can’t see the blackboard, come and sit at the front.

    He had signed his name in the front of the book.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
  3. 3
    [countable] a particular aspect of a situation

    There’s bad news on the job front – two factories are going to close.

    His main problems were in maths and science, but he has made progress on both fronts.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
  4. 4
    [countable] an organization or activity that exists to hide an illegal or secret one
    front for:

    They kept a shop as a front for dealing in stolen goods.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
  5. 5
    [singular] behaviour that is not sincere because you want to hide your real feelings

    He always pretended he didn’t care but we knew it was just a front.

    put on a front:

    She’s putting on a brave front, but she’s really very worried.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
  9. 9
    [countable] [usually singular] the area along the edge of the sea or a lake in a town

    a walk along the front

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  frontThesaurus entry for this meaning of front
    See also  seafront

phrases

This is the British English definition of front. View American English definition of front.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

glottal stop

a sound made by stopping air as it passes through your throat. In some varieties of spoken...

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog