up-front

1 of 2

adjective

ˌəp-ˈfrənt 

ˈəp-ˌfrənt

: being or coming in or at the front: such as

a(1)

: frank, forthright

(2)

: being in a conspicuous or leading position

b

: paid or payable in advance

c

: playing in a front line (as in football)

up front

2 of 2

adverb

1

: in or at the front

2

: in advance

3

: in an up-front manner : frankly, forthrightly

Synonyms

Adjective

• candid
• direct
• forthcoming
• forthright
• foursquare
• frank
• free-spoken
• freehearted
• honest
• open
• openhearted
• out-front
• outspoken
• plain
• plainspoken
• straight
• straightforward
• unguarded
• unreserved

Examples of up-front in a Sentence

Adjective

some hurt feelings could have been spared if he'd been more up-front about whom he was inviting to the party

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Spotter’s licensing business pays creators cash up-front for rights to their back catalog of videos, which the company then monetizes. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 30 Oct. 2024

To file, debtors owe an up-front fee that can exceed $1,000—a bizarre catch-22 for someone who can’t afford to pay their bills. —Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2024

Adverb

More recently, Eau Claire has been billing public safety costs through venues instead of directly sending invoices up front to campaigns, to ensure payments from campaigns -- including $4,000 from Sen. JD Vance's visit in September and roughly $16,000 from Harris' visit in August. —Soo Rin Kim, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024

Related Articles Editorial: Dublin should have been up front about term-limit ballot measure Editorial: Unpacking those confusing sales tax ballot measures. —Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial, The Mercury News, 2 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1945, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1937, in the meaning defined at sense 1