frontier

[ fruhn-teer, fron-; also, especially British, fruhn-teer ]
See synonyms for: frontierfrontiers on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the part of a country that borders another country; boundary; border.

  2. the land or territory that forms the furthest extent of a country's settled or inhabited regions.

  1. Often frontiers.

    • the limit of knowledge or the most advanced achievement in a particular field: the frontiers of physics.

    • an outer limit in a field of endeavor, especially one in which the opportunities for research and development have not been exploited: the frontiers of space exploration.

  2. Mathematics. boundary (def. 3).

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or located on the frontier: a frontier town.

Origin of frontier

1
1350–1400; Middle English frounter<Old French frontier, equivalent to front (in the sense of opposite side; see front) + -ier-ier2

synonym study For frontier

1. See boundary.

Other words from frontier

  • fron·tier·less, adjective
  • fron·tier·like, adjective
  • sem·i·fron·tier, noun
  • trans·fron·tier, adjective

Words Nearby frontier

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use frontier in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for frontier

frontier

/ (ˈfrʌntɪə, frʌnˈtɪə) /


noun
    • the region of a country bordering on another or a line, barrier, etc, marking such a boundary

    • (as modifier): a frontier post

  1. US and Canadian

    • the edge of the settled area of a country

    • (as modifier): the frontier spirit

  1. (often plural) the limit of knowledge in a particular field: the frontiers of physics have been pushed back

Origin of frontier

1
C14: from Old French frontiere, from front (in the sense: part which is opposite); see front

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012