front office

American  

noun

• front offices
  plural

1. the executive or administrative office of a company, organization, etc.

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front office Idioms  

1. The policy-making or executive individuals in an organization, as in I'll have to check with the front office before I can give you a discount. This term was originally underworld slang for police headquarters or the main detective bureau. It soon was extended to other administrative offices and their personnel. [c. 1900]

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• front-office
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• front offices
  plural

Etymology

Origin of front office

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

front office

Lombardi, 67, is a former longtime NFL executive who was a member of the Cleveland Browns’ front office during Belichick’s stint as the team’s head coach in the early 1990s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Lowrance hit it off with the Dodgers’ front office in June at the draft combine in Phoenix.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

“And many front office people have mentioned to me the same phrase, which was, ‘Our guys were light on Brady last year,’ meaning they missed, he should have been drafted higher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

In February 2021, then-Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey received an email from an enterprising Harvard student looking to connect with a pioneer of basketball analytics about working in a front office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Two cops had him in cuffs a moment later, and pulled him off toward the front office.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro