forefront

F4O1R1E1F4R1O1N1T1
UK/ˈfɔːfɹʌnt/British, Southern, Standard/ˈfoːfɹʌnt/Northern England/ˈfɔːfɹʊnt//ˈfɔːfɾənt/

noun

The leading position or edge.

“That laboratory researches topics at the forefront of technology.”

Less commonScrabble 15

Meanings

nounforefront (plural forefronts)

plural forefronts

  1. The leading position or edge.

    That laboratory researches topics at the forefront of technology.

    3 more examples

    Today, the pocket calculator is a dying product, a casualty of digitization, which has been relegated to the role of a graphic icon on phone and computer screens rather than an object in its own right, but back in the early 1970s, it was at the forefront of consumer technology.

    2012 March 4, Alice Rawsthorn, “Farewell, Pocket Calculator?”, in The New York Times

    It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today – with America standing out in the forefront and the UK not far behind.

    2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19

    He said that with the world facing a climate crisis, "it is up to those at the forefront of our industry - like Network Rail - to lead by example".

    2023 August 9, “Network News: Network Rail under fire for spending thousands of pounds on flights”, in RAIL, number 989, page 15
verbforefront (third-person singular simple present forefronts, present participle forefronting, simple past and past participle forefronted)

present singular third person forefronts · participle present forefronting · participle past forefronted · past forefronted

  1. transitiveTo bring to the forefront; to emphasize, or focus on.

    The impact of austerity and economic circumstances were forefronted in the more economically deprived countries of the partner countries (BG, GR) and seen as producing a fateful impact on access to diet and healthy lifestyle options.

    2015 July 8, Anne Rogers et al., “Meso level influences on long term condition self-management: stakeholder accounts of commonalities and differences across six European countries”, in BMC Public Health, volume 15, →DOI

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe part in the front or nearest the viewer

Similar

nounthe position of greatest importance or advancement; the leading position in any movement or field

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishforefrount
  2. Englishforefront

From Middle English forefrount, forfrount, forefronte, equivalent to fore- + front.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic طَلِيعَة
  • طَلِيعَة (ṭalīʕa)forefront
Bulgarian преден план
  • преден планforefront
Catalan avantguarda
  • avantguardaforefront
Chinese Mandarin 第一線 /第一线, 前沿
  • 第一線 /第一线 (dìyīxiàn)forefront
  • 前沿 (qiányán)forefront
Czech popředí
  • popředíforefront
Dutch voorgrond
  • voorgrondforefront
Esperanto antaŭparto
  • antaŭpartoforefront
Finnish eturintama, kärkikasti
  • eturintamaforefront
  • kärkikastiforefront
  • kärkipääforefront
French avant-garde, premier plan
  • avant-gardeforefront
  • premier planforefront
German Vordergrund
  • Vordergrundforefront
Greek εμπροσθοφυλακή, πρωτοπορία
  • εμπροσθοφυλακή (emprosthofylakí)forefront
  • πρωτοπορία (protoporía)forefront
  • πρώτη γραμμή (próti grammí)forefront
Irish urthosach
  • urthosachforefront
Italian primo piano
  • primo pianoforefront
Japanese 第一線
  • 第一線 (daiissen)forefront
Māori haputa
  • haputaforefront
Portuguese primeiro plano
  • primeiro planoforefront
Russian пере́дний край, аванга́рд
  • пере́дний край (perédnij kraj)forefront
  • аванга́рд (avangárd)forefront
  • пере́дний план (perédnij plan)forefront
  • передова́я (peredovája)forefront
Spanish vanguardia, primer plano
  • vanguardiaforefront
  • primer planoforefront

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with forefront

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

forefront. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forefront

MLA

“forefront.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forefront. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forefront,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forefront.

Source: forefront on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.