Jump To:

• out-front
  out-front

  adjective

  candid; frank; honest.
• out front
  out front

  In front of a building or house, as in We really need to put another light out front, or I'll meet you at the museum, out front. The antonym, referring to the back of a building, is out back, as in John's out back fixing his bike. The noun front has been used for the side of a building where the main entrance is located since the mid-1300s; back for the rear of a building dates from the late 1300s.

out-front

American  

[out-fruhnt] / ˈaʊtˈfrʌnt /

adjective

Informal.

1. candid; frank; honest.

   The politician was less than out-front with the interviewer.

---

out front Idioms  

1. In front of a building or house, as in We really need to put another light out front, or I'll meet you at the museum, out front. The antonym, referring to the back of a building, is out back, as in John's out back fixing his bike. The noun front has been used for the side of a building where the main entrance is located since the mid-1300s; back for the rear of a building dates from the late 1300s.

---

Etymology

Origin of out-front

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

out-front out front

I’ve never been an out-front champion on this issue, but I have always believed that the people of Alabama should have the final say.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 2, 2021

I’m not going to be the out-front person.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2017

And the other is: Every out-front maneuver that you make is going to be uncomfortable, and that feeling of discomfort is good.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2016

Beck, in contrast, said he isn't out-front in expressing his political views in the locker room, lest it disrupt team harmony.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2012

The position must neither be commanded, out-fronted, nor surrounded; but on the contrary ought, as far as possible, to command and out-front the enemy's position.

From Elements of Military Art and Science Or, Course Of Instruction In Strategy, Fortification, Tactics Of Battles, &C.; Embracing The Duties Of Staff, Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, And Engineers; Adapted To The Use Of Volunteers And Militia; Third Edition; With Critical Notes On The Mexican And Crimean Wars. by Halleck, Henry Wager

Initially it was a hat and shoe repair store, with candies sold from a cart out front as an extra earning stream.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

Pratt fans dropped off ballots, picked up lawn signs and stopped to pick up coffee drinks from the Hustle N Dough doughnut truck parked out front.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026

The first stop on our tour was a brand-new grocery store with a sprawling parking lot out front.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

The hotel, a short walk from world-renowned museums, is formed of conjoined Victorian townhouses with British and Irish flags displayed out front.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

I tried to shove all doubts aside as we arrived through a side entrance to a staging area inside the old capitol, still unable to see what was going on out front.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• celebratory
• elated
• exultant
• glorious
• happy
• jubilant
• proud
• triumphal
• victorious