Dictionary.com

front bench

noun British.

(used with a singular verb) (in the House of Commons) either of two seats near the Speaker, on which the leaders of the major parties sit.
(used with a singular or plural verb) the leaders who occupy a front bench.

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Compare back bench.

Origin of front bench

First recorded in 1890–95

OTHER WORDS FROM front bench

front bencher, noun

Words nearby front bench

frontal pole, frontal sinus, frontal sulcus, frontal suture, front and center, front bench, front bottom, front burner, front burner, on a, front channel, front court
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for front bench

  • But he did not modify his front-bench attitude; it was only the well-known eyebrows that rose.

    The Crime Doctor|Ernest William Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for front bench

front bench

noun

British
  1. the foremost bench of either the Government or Opposition in the House of Commons
  2. the leadership (frontbenchers) of either group, who occupy this bench
  3. (as modifier)a front-bench decision
the leadership of the government or opposition in various legislative assemblies
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012