front line
Americannoun
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front lines
plural
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Military. front.
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the place where in-person essential work is carried out, especially in jobs that may involve some risk, as in policing, healthcare, emergency services, public transit, grocery, warehouse, and delivery work.
Our bookstore extends a discount to all the teachers, aides, specialists, librarians, and therapists who are on the front line serving our children in schools every day.
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the visible forefront in any action, activity, or field.
TV reporters are constantly involved in the front line of events.
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Football. front four.
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Basketball. front court.
noun
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military the most advanced military units or elements in a battle
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the most advanced, exposed, or conspicuous element in any activity or situation
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frontline. (modifier)
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of, relating to, or suitable for the front line of a military formation
frontline troops
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of, relating to, or suitable for public service and business employees who are in direct contact with the public
frontline staff
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to the fore; advanced, conspicuous, etc
frontline news
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of or relating to a country bordering on or close to a hostile country or scene of armed conflict
leaders of the frontline states attended the summit
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of front line
First recorded in 1670–80
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.
"Firefighters have been on the front line of climate change for a number of years," Phil Garrigan, of the National Fire Chiefs Council, told BBC Radio.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
This part of Australia is the front line of that crisis: a last stand for many species driven to the brink by feral pests, disease, urban development, habitat destruction and climate change.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
This has also been an incredible front line of the technological vanguard for how war is going to be fought in the future.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Open-source research outlet Black Bird Group says Russia has made some of its smallest gains this summer since the start of the war, while Ukraine has launched counterattacks along other areas of the front line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
As we crossed the front line, I saw the Germans sitting close to each other, miserably looking up at the sky.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
