frontier

[fruhn-teer, fron-, fruhn-teer]

noun

1. the part of a country that borders another country; boundary; border.

2. the land or territory that forms the furthest extent of a country's settled or inhabited regions.

3. Often frontiers.

   1. the limit of knowledge or the most advanced achievement in a particular field.

      the frontiers of physics.

   2. an outer limit in a field of endeavor, especially one in which the opportunities for research and development have not been exploited.

      the frontiers of space exploration.

4. Mathematics.,  boundary.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or located on the frontier.

   a frontier town.

frontier

/ frʌnˈtɪə, ˈfrʌntɪə /

noun

1. 1. the region of a country bordering on another or a line, barrier, etc, marking such a boundary

   2. ( as modifier )

      a frontier post

2. 1. the edge of the settled area of a country

   2. ( as modifier )

      the frontier spirit

3. (often plural) the limit of knowledge in a particular field

   the frontiers of physics have been pushed back

Other Word Forms

• frontierless adjective
• frontierlike adjective
• semifrontier noun
• transfrontier adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontier¹

1350–1400; Middle English frounter < Old French frontier, equivalent to front (in the sense of opposite side; front ) + -ier -ier ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontier¹

C14: from Old French frontiere , from front (in the sense: part which is opposite); see _front

Synonym Study

See boundary.

Example Sentences

Hartnett’s weekly “Flow Show” report noted that the first sniff of that Fed capitulation would be felt in the crypto markets first because it represents “the frontier of liquidity and speculation.”

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For enterprising men, money from war, industry or trade was a passport through social frontiers—the tradesman, merchant or lucky naval captain could become a landed gentleman, as happens in Austen’s novels.

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Afghanistan is scrambling to diversify its trade partners after a deadly border clash with Pakistan last month brought ties to their lowest point in years, affecting people on both sides of the frontier.

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If they pull it off, it could unlock a new frontier of quantum, helping the systems move beyond the lab.

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With the arrangement, Claude will be “the only frontier LLM model available on all three of the world’s most prominent cloud services,” according to a press release.

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