the part or side of anything that faces forward: the front of a jacket.
the part or side of anything, as a building, that seems to look out or to be directed forward: He sat in the front of the restaurant.
any side or face, as of a building.
a façade, considered with respect to its architectural treatment or material: a cast-iron front.
a property line along a street or the like: a fifty-foot front.
a place or position directly before anything: We decided to plant trees in the front.
a position of leadership in a particular endeavor or field: She rose to the front of her profession.
the foremost line or part of an army.
a line of battle.
the place where combat operations are carried on.
an area of activity, conflict, or competition: news from the business front.
land facing a road, river, etc.
a promenade along a seashore.
a distinguished person listed as an official of an organization, for the sake of prestige, and who is usually inactive.
a person or thing that serves as a cover or disguise for some other activity, esp. one of a secret, disreputable, or illegal nature; a blind: The store was a front for foreign agents.
outward impression of rank, position, or wealth.
bearing or demeanor in confronting anything: a calm front.
haughtiness; self-importance: That clerk has the most outrageous front.
the forehead, or the entire face: the statue's gracefully chiseled front.
a coalition or movement to achieve a particular end, usually political: the people's front.
something attached or worn at the breast, as a shirt front or a dickey: to spill gravy down one's front.
an interface or zone of transition between two dissimilar air masses.
the auditorium.
the business offices of a theater.
the front of the stage; downstage.
in a forward place or position: Sit down, you in front!
to walk in front of a moving crowd.
ahead of:to walk in front of a moving crowd.
outside the entrance of:to wait in front of a house.
in the presence of:to behave badly in front of company.
He's waiting out front.
outside the entrance:He's waiting out front.
ahead of competitors:This advertising campaign ought to put our business way out front.
Theat.in the audience or auditorium.
Informal.candidly; frankly:Say what you mean out front.
You'll have to make a payment of $5,000 up front.
in advance; before anything else:You'll have to make a payment of $5,000 up front.
frank; open; direct:I want you to be up front with me.
—adj.
of or pertaining to the front.
situated in or at the front: front seats.
(of a speech sound) articulated with the tongue blade relatively far forward in the mouth, as the sounds of lay.
—v.t.
to have the front toward; face: Our house fronts the lake.
to meet face to face; confront.
to face in opposition, hostility, or defiance.
to furnish or supply a front to: to front a building with sandstone.
to serve as a front to: A long, sloping lawn fronted their house.
to provide an introduction to; introduce: a recorded message that is fronted with a singing commercial.
to lead (a jazz or dance band).
to articulate (a speech sound) at a position farther front in the mouth.
to move (a constituent) to the beginning of a clause or sentence.
—v.i.
to have or turn the front in some specified direction: Our house fronts on the lake.
to serve as a cover or disguise for another activity, esp. something of a disreputable or illegal nature: The shop fronts for a narcotics ring.
—interj.
(used to call or command someone to come, look, etc., to the front, as in an order to troops on parade or in calling a hotel bellboy to the front desk): Front and center, on the double!