front burner
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of front burner
First recorded in 1965–70; by analogy with back burner
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At a meeting of senior EU member state officials on Sunday evening, the emphasis was on not rushing to decisions and keeping diplomacy with the White House on the front burner.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026
But then every time I went to visit him, it was like something that was on the back burner came to the front burner, and the reality smashed me in the face.
From Slate • May 23, 2023
He also lamented that crises in Mali, Afghanistan and Yemen won’t be on the front burner.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 18, 2022
“If we don’t keep it on the front burner, people will forget.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2022
But he made one compelling point that showed Lawrence and Alvarez how they might restore the program to Washington’s front burner.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
