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front matter

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR front matter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Printing.

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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RELATED WORDS

introduction, preface, preliminary, preliminaries, prelims

Nearby words

front line, front list, front load, front loader, front man, front matter, front money, front nine, front of house, front office, front projection
Compare back matter.

Origin of front matter

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10
Also called preliminaries.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for front matter

front matter

noun

another name for prelims (def. 1)
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