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front row

front row

112 1.3
The first row of seats nearest the stage or screen that lets you see the action clearly
  • noun
: primera fila
  • We sat in the front row at the concert and had an amazing view of the stage.
  • sit in the front row
  • front row seats

I see John Henry from the Boston Globe in the front row as well.

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Examples

  • Yeah, we sat in the front row.

  • The two men sit together in the front row of the small theater.

    Academic text (1993)
  • So they bring us up to the front row and sit us next to your parents.

  • There was a guy in the front row.

  • Her supportive family is seated, as always, in the front row, center.

    Academic text (2000)
  • My mom's in the front row.

  • The three of them are in the front row of benches.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The little girl in the front row is musician Courtney Love at age six.

    Academic text (2009)
  • He's at the marriage conference, VIP in the front row and taking notes.

  • Get comfy because this is a front row seat to his wildly beautiful genius.

Synonyms

orchestra
vsfront row
  • US
6 3.7

Seats on the main floor of a theater closest to the stage

is the first row specifically rather than a whole seating section
stall
vsfront row
  • UK
1 4.8

Seats on the main floor of a theater near the stage

is the very first row of seats immediately next to the action

How Favorable

front row
112 1.3
midfield
19 2.6
rear
262 1.0

Surface Forms

front row singular
front rows plural

Morphology

front + row

The meaning 'the first row of seats closest to the stage' is directly and transparently composed from 'front' (nearest) + 'row' (a line of seats/people). This straightforward spatial noun-noun composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

The noun front row comes from the simple image of the seats at the very front of a row next to the stage, where you are closest to the action. That's why front row means 'the first row of seats closest to the stage or screen'.