front matter

American  

noun

Printing.

1. all material in a book that precedes the text proper, as the title page, copyright page, table of contents, dedication, and preface.

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front matter British  

noun

1. another name for prelims

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Etymology

Origin of front matter

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

front matter

Weeks later, a bemused Hackford called King again to confess they’d been unable to locate Little Tall Island, notwithstanding the hand-drawn map in the book’s front matter.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2025

At the risk of reading too much into a book’s front matter, it helps to know that Groff’s sister, to whom she dedicates the book, is superstar triathlete Sarah True.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2023

Introduction: The first section of a report after any front matter, such as an abstract or table of contents.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

Paging through this front matter feels like waiting for a haunted carnival ride to start, only to be wrong-footed.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 31, 2019

Inexplicably, the pagination of this text's front matter runs i-xi, then begins again at v for the list of plates and reviews.

From Blacker's Art of Fly Making, &c. Comprising Angling, & Dyeing of Colours, with Engravings of Salmon & Trout Flies by William Blacker

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