English

Preposition

in front of

1. At or near the front part of (something).
   • 1872, Charles Hardwick, Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore :

     Both parties met in front of the Castle, the torch-bearers numbering nearly one hundred.

2. In the presence of, in view of (someone).

   Not in front of the children!

3. Located before, ahead of, previous to (someone or something).

   I'll take the one in front of the black one.

   • a. 2002, “Mandi”, quoted in Nicholas E. Brink, Grendel and His Mother: Healing the Traumas of Childhood Through Dreams, Imagery, and Hypnosis, Baywood Publishing Company, Inc. (2002), ISBN 9780895032621, page 1:

     Several people are in front of me in line. The woman next in front of me is older, probably in her fifties.

Synonyms

• (at or near the front part of): before
• (in the presence of (someone)): around, in the company of, in the presence of
• (located before): ahead of, before

Antonyms

• (at or near the front part of): after, behind, in back of
• (in the presence of (someone)): away from, in the absence of, without
• (located before): after, behind, in back of

Translations

References

• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press (2003), ISBN 0-521-81430-8.