1
: relating to, occurring in, or required at the beginning of an undertaking or business transaction
no front-end charge at the time of investment
He pays close attention to financial matters and can speak the language of "front-end money," "back-end money" and the rest of it.—
Erik Hedegaard
compare back-end sense 1
Erik Hedegaard2
computing
: visible to the user of a device or service
a front-end application/interface
compare back-end sense 2
plural front ends
1
: the front part or section of something
Soon the front end of the ship began to go down and down, faster and faster—till the boat looked almost as though it were standing on its head.—Hugh Lofting
Hugh Lofting2
computing
a
: a unit in a computer system devoted to controlling the data communications link between terminals and the main computer and often to the preliminary processing of data
b
: a software interface (such as a graphical user interface) designed to enable user-friendly interaction with a computer
… you'll want to use this well-designed, easy-to-use front end for Windows' obscure command-line tools.—Edward Mendelson
compare back end sense 3
Edward Mendelson3
: the initial part or period of a business arrangement or financial undertaking
Once a record company has sunk a lot of money on the front end of a project, with big-name producers and an expensive video, she says, "They're afraid of spending money on anything else."—Mimi Valdés
Mimi ValdésIn sum, the initiative aims to force … residents to pay more of their own fire protection expenses, and to pay those expenses on the front end.—David Sirota
compare back end sense 2
David SirotaExamples of front-end in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebLila MacLellan, Fortune, 14 May 2024
Police said that along with front-end damage, a traffic signal was found hanging from Watts’ vehicle, which was struck just after Rios was hit by the car.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2024
There also will be front-end diversion when appropriate through the assessment center, according to the county.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 6 May 2024
Sanitation workers driving front-end loaders collect the trash in the pit and dump it into shipping containers, which each hold twenty-five tons of waste.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Watch this 👀 ‘Unbelievable’: Two front-end loaders battle it out during a wild police pursuit in Georgia.
—Daniel Wine, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Their solution was to send another front-end loader to chase it down, which resulted in a low-speed demolition derby.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Documents stated after leaving the scene to inform the woman’s parents of her death, a highway safety officer with the department noticed Anderson’s Ford F-150 patrol vehicle had front-end damage.
—The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2024
Their injectable chip system includes multiple physiological sensors, front-end circuits, a microcontroller with a wireless radio system to send measurements, Bluetooth low-energy capability, and a rechargeable battery.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2024
Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 May 2024
With the evolution of fintech, people think of fintech as the front end of that relationship.
—Fortune Editors, Fortune, 15 May 2024
Leavitt said the Nissan — for an unknown reason — crossed into the northbound lane and struck the front end of the Lexus.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 13 May 2024
The crash crushed the front end of the CHP patrol vehicle, and its airbags appeared to have deployed.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
Around mid-afternoon, a portion of a crane’s heavy metal framework plunged onto the Southeast Third Avenue bridge, crushing the front ends of two cars.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
The front end of a one-and-one fell away, and Utah immediately pushed the ball down the court with a chance to tie, the very worst of outcomes flying through Coach Andy Enfield’s head in this Twilight Zone of a season.
—Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 16 Feb. 2024
Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias expressed confidence Friday in the organization’s major league pitching staff now that Burnes is cemented at the front end of its rotation.
—Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 2 Feb. 2024
The double-overtime affair led to Herro playing a career-high 48 minutes, Adebayo logging a career-high 48 minutes and Butler finishing at a season-high 44 minutes on the front end of the Heat’s back-to-back, with another game on Wednesday against the Mavericks in Miami.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Still, Muthukumar, who started her career as a front-end developer at Google before moving into marketing at companies like Stripe and Dropbox, faces other heady challenges.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 14 May 2024
Police said that along with front-end damage, a traffic signal was found hanging from Watts’ vehicle, which was struck just after Rios was hit by the car.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2024
There also will be front-end diversion when appropriate through the assessment center, according to the county.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 6 May 2024
Sanitation workers driving front-end loaders collect the trash in the pit and dump it into shipping containers, which each hold twenty-five tons of waste.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Watch this 👀 ‘Unbelievable’: Two front-end loaders battle it out during a wild police pursuit in Georgia.
—Daniel Wine, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Their solution was to send another front-end loader to chase it down, which resulted in a low-speed demolition derby.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Documents stated after leaving the scene to inform the woman’s parents of her death, a highway safety officer with the department noticed Anderson’s Ford F-150 patrol vehicle had front-end damage.
—The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2024
Their injectable chip system includes multiple physiological sensors, front-end circuits, a microcontroller with a wireless radio system to send measurements, Bluetooth low-energy capability, and a rechargeable battery.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2024
Noun
There’s also a front horizontal lightbar in front just like that found on the pickup’s front end.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 May 2024
With the evolution of fintech, people think of fintech as the front end of that relationship.
—Fortune Editors, Fortune, 15 May 2024
Leavitt said the Nissan — for an unknown reason — crossed into the northbound lane and struck the front end of the Lexus.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 13 May 2024
The crash crushed the front end of the CHP patrol vehicle, and its airbags appeared to have deployed.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
Around mid-afternoon, a portion of a crane’s heavy metal framework plunged onto the Southeast Third Avenue bridge, crushing the front ends of two cars.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
The front end of a one-and-one fell away, and Utah immediately pushed the ball down the court with a chance to tie, the very worst of outcomes flying through Coach Andy Enfield’s head in this Twilight Zone of a season.
—Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 16 Feb. 2024
Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias expressed confidence Friday in the organization’s major league pitching staff now that Burnes is cemented at the front end of its rotation.
—Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 2 Feb. 2024
The double-overtime affair led to Herro playing a career-high 48 minutes, Adebayo logging a career-high 48 minutes and Butler finishing at a season-high 44 minutes on the front end of the Heat’s back-to-back, with another game on Wednesday against the Mavericks in Miami.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'front-end.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near front-end
Cite this Entry
“Front-end.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/front-end. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
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