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

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Etymology

Origin of front office

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

front office

Other executives in the front office believed that adding Yelich “would accelerate our rebuild,” current general manager Matt Arnold said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

After retiring in 1996, Mr. Winfield went on to have a successful career with the Padres front office and the MLB Players Association.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

“I credit our research group and front office for really looking through this and saying, ‘Are we missing anything?’”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

“There’s just a lack of trust in the front office frankly,” said Nadia Johnson, who attended games every season but didn’t buy season tickets until this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The assistant principal dashed away and over to the ground near the entrance to the front office and pried a metal compartment in the wall open.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

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