up-front

[ uhp-fruhnt ]

adjectiveAlso upfront .
  1. invested or paid in advance or as beginning capital: an up-front fee of five percent and an additional five percent when the job is done.

  2. honest; candid; straightforward: He's very up-front about discussing his past.

  1. conspicuous or prominent: The company has an up-front position in its industry.

  2. located in the front or forward section: to request up-front seats on a plane.

adverbAlso up front .
  1. as an initial investment, beginning capital, or an advance payment: They'll need a half-million dollars up-front before opening the business.

  2. before other payments, deductions, or returning a profit: Estimated operating expenses will be deducted up-front.

Origin of up-front

1
First recorded in 1965–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use up-front in a sentence

  • I showed him I was fit enough for the job and he asked me if Id take an ambulance car to drive up front.

    Grapes of wrath | Boyd Cable
  • I laid out the suits up front, and I think we might reasonably get out there and take a look at the old boat.

    Islands of Space | John W Campbell
  • Then, while the co-pilot left his seat up front and started back to the seats near the bomb bay, Segador continued talking.

    The Five Arrows | Allan Chase
  • That's why I'm pushed up front while the brass cautiously retires behind the ramparts which I'm supposed to hold.

    The Brain | Alexander Blade
  • He don't cal'late to miss a prayer-meetin' and when there's a revival goin' on he's right up front with the mourners.

    Thankful's Inheritance | Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for upfront

upfront

/ (ˈʌpˈfrʌnt) /


adjective
  1. informal open, frank, honest

adverb, adjective
  1. (of money) paid out at the beginning of a business arrangement

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with up-front

up-front

In the forward section, as of an airplane or theater. For example, We'd like two seats as far up front as possible. [First half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.