front office

American  

noun

• front offices
  plural

1. the executive or administrative office of a company, organization, etc.

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front office Idioms  

1. The policy-making or executive individuals in an organization, as in I'll have to check with the front office before I can give you a discount. This term was originally underworld slang for police headquarters or the main detective bureau. It soon was extended to other administrative offices and their personnel. [c. 1900]

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• front-office
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• front offices
  plural

Etymology

Origin of front office

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

front office

The front office tried to remedy that in the off-season, and the revamped defence was impressive in their opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

In this most recent chapter, Heyward has ventured into the front office, Freeman is adding to his Hall of Fame candidacy, and they’re once again on the same team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Task force leadership, the supposed authors of predetermined outcomes, agreed, and a supervisor told the team it “had done a good job convincing the front office that they should move on from Brown.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

In his short tenure, Walter ant TWG Global started remaking front office and business operations with the Lakers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

“Listen. You could say Ian and I have...made the front office our second home. How many times would you say we’ve been sent in three years, Ian?”

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia