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Glite Dictionary
in front of

in front of

∞ 1.0
Ahead of or facing something where people can see it
  • adposition
: delante de
  • I'm going to sit in front of my desk all day.
  • stand in front of
  • stop in front of
  • directly in front of

I have here in front of me the texts.

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Examples

  • There I was, standing right in front of them, the man they were looking for.

    Academic text (2011)

  • But this one time I had to speak in front of the class as myself.

    Evan Carmichael

  • That girl is standing in front of you right now.

  • Now move it directly in front of the source.

  • We have to work with the issues in front of us in that way.

    DoctorRamani

  • Are you in front of my house?

    Unfavorable Odds (2022)

  • My father sets the Black Forest cake in front of me with a knife.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I am standing right in front of the iPhone.

  • And right then, we were in front of a jewelry store.

    Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)

  • That girl is standing in front of you right now.

Synonyms

before
vsin front of
∞ 1.0

In front of people or things

includes being physically present or facing someone rather than only positional relation
ahead
vsin front of
∞ 1.0

In front or moving forward to make progress

focuses on being present or facing someone without implying movement

Antonyms

behind
∞ 1.0

At the back of someone or something

How Far

ahead
503 1.0
in front of
∞ 1.0
before
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

in front of main

Morphology

in + front + of

The locative meaning 'ahead of / facing something' is directly and compositionally built from 'in' (position), 'front' (the side nearest a viewer) and the relational particle 'of'; a B1 learner who knows these words can infer the spatial sense. This is a common, cross-linguistic prepositional construction (in + front + of) following standard English composition patterns, so the phrase is immediately comprehensible from its parts.

Etymology

In front of comes from the simple image of the front — the part of a person, vehicle, or building that faces forward. So to be in front of something is to stand ahead of it or where you can see it, which is why it means 'in a position ahead of' or 'in the presence of'.