frontier — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The part of a country which borders or faces another country or unsettled region.

   Synonyms

   marchmarchesbordermarchlandborderland

   Examples

   the frontier of civilization

   For two years the Easterner had been searching for his lost brother, at trading posts and Army forts all along the frontier.

   More examples (5)

   There were not many passengers, and the journey was uneventful until the frontier was reached at Padang Besar, although an armed escort of Malay police accompanied the train from Alor Star.

   From time to time the coaches of the Lötschberg Railway itself, which in comfort and décor can rank with the finest in Europe today, travel far from the frontiers of Switzerland on through workings such as these.

   Unlike a boundary, which evokes the image of a line on a map and demarcates spheres of political control, the frontier is an area where colonisation is taking place....no authority is recognised as legitimate by all parties or is able to [exercise] undisputed control over the area.

   But there is also real opposition to Nato expansion - and even to Nato's continued existence after the Cold War. This is a view shared by a very large part of Russia's military and foreign affairs establishment. Educated and trained during the Soviet period, they are still inculcated with notions of super-power military might. It has been painful for these people to see Nato's outer edge creep ever closer to what was once the frontier of the USSR.

   The demise of “de minimis”, as the exemption is known, is the latest, symbolic reminder to digital darlings that frontiers exist—and that business models built on their absence are in need of a rethink.

2. The most advanced or recent version of something; the leading edge.

   Synonyms

   vanguardstate of the art

   Examples

   Near-synonyms: vanguard, state of the art

   the frontier of solid state electronics

3. An outwork of a fortification.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

   Examples

   thou hast talk'd. Of sallies and retires, of trenches, tents, Of palisadoes, frontiers, parapets

Verb

1. To live as pioneers on frontier territory.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

2. To place on the frontier.

   Usage

   • Obsolete
   • Transitive

   Examples

   now that it is no more a Border, nor frontiered with Enemies, why should such Privileges be any more continued?

Noun

1. a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country

   Broader terms

   wildernesswild

   Examples

   the individualism of the frontier in Andrew Jackson's day

2. an international boundary or the area (often fortified) immediately inside the boundary

   Broader terms

   boundaryboundbounds

3. an undeveloped field of study; a topic inviting research and development

   Broader terms

   disciplinesubjectsubject areasubject fieldfieldfield of studystudybailiwick

   Examples

   he worked at the frontier of brain science