forefront

From Middle English forefrount, forfrount, forefronte, equivalent to fore- +‎ front.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹfɹʌnt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːfɹʌnt/
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /fo(ː)ɹfɹʌnt/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /foəfɹʌnt/

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forefront (plural forefronts)

1. The leading position or edge.
   • 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:

     It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today – with America standing out in the forefront and the UK not far behind.

   That laboratory researches topics at the forefront of technology.

forefront (third-person singular simple present forefronts, present participle forefronting, simple past and past participle forefronted)

1. (transitive) To bring to the forefront; to emphasize, or focus on.
   • 2015 July 8, Anne Rogers et al., “Meso level influences on long term condition self-management: stakeholder accounts of commonalities and differences across six European countries”, in BMC Public Health‎, volume 15, DOI:10.1186/s12889-015-1957-1:

     The impact of austerity and economic circumstances were forefronted in the more economically deprived countries of the partner countries (BG, GR) and seen  as producing a fateful impact on access to diet and healthy lifestyle options.