noun
Meaning 1
The leading position or edge.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- That laboratory researches topics at the forefront of technology.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
forefront
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfɔːfɹʌnt/
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Canada, General-American: /ˈfɔɹfɹʌnt/
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California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian, New-Zealand: /ˈfoːfɹɐnt/
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/ˈfo(ː)ɹfɹʌnt/ rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
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/ˈfoəfɹʌnt/ non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
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rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)fɹʌnt
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CMU ARPABET: F AO1 R F R AH2 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
verb
Meaning 2
To bring to the forefront; to emphasize, or focus on.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
the position of greatest importance or advancement; the leading position in any movement or field
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the Cotswolds were once at the forefront of woollen manufacturing in England
- the idea of motion was always to the forefront of his mind and central to his philosophy
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: vanguard, cutting edge
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: position, view, perspective
noun
Meaning 4
the part in the front or nearest the viewer
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- he was in the forefront
- he was at the head of the column
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: head
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: front, front end, forepart
History
Etymology
From Middle English forefrount, forfrount, forefronte, equivalent to fore- + front.
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: طَلِيعَة (ṭalīʕa) — forefront
- Azerbaijani: ön cərgə — forefront
- Bulgarian: преден план — forefront
- Catalan: avantguarda — forefront
- Chinese Mandarin: 第一線 /第一线 (dìyīxiàn) — forefront
- Chinese Mandarin: 前沿 (qiányán) — forefront
- Czech: popředí — forefront
- Dutch: voorgrond — forefront
- Esperanto: antaŭparto — forefront
- Finnish: eturintama — forefront
- Finnish: kärkikasti — forefront
- Finnish: kärkipää — forefront
- French: avant-garde — forefront
- French: premier plan — forefront
- Galician: vangarda — forefront
- Galician: primeira liña — forefront
- German: Vordergrund — forefront
- Greek: εμπροσθοφυλακή (emprosthofylakí) — forefront
- Greek: πρωτοπορία (protoporía) — forefront
- Greek: πρώτη γραμμή (próti grammí) — forefront
- Irish: urthosach — forefront
- Italian: primo piano — forefront
- Japanese: 第一線 (daiissen) — forefront
- Māori: haputa — forefront
- Portuguese: primeiro plano — forefront
- Russian: пере́дний край (perédnij kraj) — forefront
- Russian: аванга́рд (avangárd) — forefront
- Russian: пере́дний план (perédnij plan) — forefront
- Russian: передова́я (peredovája) — forefront
- Spanish: vanguardia — forefront
- Spanish: primer plano — forefront
Real reading context