anterior
Americanadjective
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situated before or at the front of; fore (posterior ).
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going before in time or sequence; preceding; earlier.
events anterior to the outbreak of war.
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Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) articulated in the region extending from the alveolar ridge to the lips; alveolar, dental, or labial.
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(in animals and embryos) pertaining to or toward the head or forward end of the body.
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(in humans) pertaining to or toward the front plane of the body, equivalent to the ventral surface of quadrupeds.
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Botany. on the front side and away from the main axis, as the lower lip of a flower.
adjective
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situated at or towards the front
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earlier in time
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zoology of or near the head end
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botany (of part of a flower or leaf) situated farthest away from the main stem
Other Word Forms
- anteriority noun
- anteriorly adverb
- nonanterior adjective
Etymology
Origin of anterior
1535–45; < Latin, comparative of ante before, formed on model of posterior
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Morris is still returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that has ruled her out for nine months, while Layzell has had multiple setbacks since impressing in a 2-0 win over Barcelona in October 2024.
From BBC
The fracture -- coming just over a week after she had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee -- sent Vonn to the Ca' Foncello hospital in the city of Treviso, north of Venice.
From Barron's
And it happened to her a week earlier, too, when she sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a crash at Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
From Los Angeles Times
Vonn, 41, insisted that the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament she suffered in a crash in a World Cup race before the Milan-Cortina Games "had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever".
From Barron's
The question of whether she should have been racing at all with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament will be debated for years.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
