frontline

or front-line

[ fruhnt-lahyn ]

adjective

1. located or designed to be used at a military front line:

   a frontline ambulance helicopter.

2. of, relating to, or involving the forefront in any action, activity, or field:

   a frontline TV reporter.

3. highly experienced or proficient in the performance of one's duties.
4. of or relating to essential work that depends on in-person interactions and may involve some risk, especially policing, healthcare, emergency services, public transit, grocery, warehouse, and delivery work:

   Congress is taking up a bill that would guarantee sick leave and hazard pay to frontline workers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontline¹

First recorded in 1910–15; front (in the military sense) + line ¹( def )

Example Sentences

“A certain amount of funding has to go towards funding those frontline services, that is a finite amount of money,” she said.

From BBC

Major Angier’s daughter Tabby, now 77, and his grandson Guy, stand to read excerpts of letters he wrote from the frontline.

From BBC

Four months later, she found out he had been killed at the frontline.

From BBC

"He said that he would be sent to the frontline for two weeks and that he would call me when he returned to base," Chaw Su tells the BBC.

From BBC

During a journey to the frontline in the eastern part of the country, Kan Htoo saw a chance to escape with two others when their convoy stopped halfway.

From BBC