front bench
noun
: either of the two benches nearest the chair in a British legislature (such as the House of Commons) occupied by government and opposition leaders
also
: the leaders themselves compare backbench
Examples of front bench in a Sentence
He challenged the views of his party's front bench.
Recent Examples on the Web
But the Dodge La Femme, like most American cars of the 1950s, had a front bench seat.
—
Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 30 Sep. 2023
View Photos Some versions of the Suburban and Tahoe can be outfitted with a three-passenger front bench seat that increases seating capacity to nine passengers.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 16 May 2023
No one comes to clean the front bench area.
—Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2022
One other change from lesser Defenders is that the 130 doesn't offer the unusual three-person front bench seat (which would have pushed total capacity to nine), nor can second-row captain's chairs be had.
—Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 19 Jan. 2023
Put the steering wheel in the middle of a front bench seat on my six-wheel-drive convertible pickup.
—Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 12 Nov. 2022
The interior eschews bucket seats and console in favor of a front bench seat, the better to show off the novelty of the car's flat floor.
—Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 26 Aug. 2022
At one point, when Johnson tried one of his usual attack lines on the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and his team, the Labour front bench began to wave farewell, in unison.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022
Brook Park Branch, 6155 Engle Road, and Brook Park Botanical and Garden Club, will team up to create an attractive garden area along the south side of the library building, and to place a planter beside the library’s front bench.
—Rich Heileman, cleveland, 8 Apr. 2022
See More
Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 30 Sep. 2023
View Photos Some versions of the Suburban and Tahoe can be outfitted with a three-passenger front bench seat that increases seating capacity to nine passengers.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 16 May 2023
No one comes to clean the front bench area.
—Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2022
One other change from lesser Defenders is that the 130 doesn't offer the unusual three-person front bench seat (which would have pushed total capacity to nine), nor can second-row captain's chairs be had.
—Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 19 Jan. 2023
Put the steering wheel in the middle of a front bench seat on my six-wheel-drive convertible pickup.
—Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 12 Nov. 2022
The interior eschews bucket seats and console in favor of a front bench seat, the better to show off the novelty of the car's flat floor.
—Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 26 Aug. 2022
At one point, when Johnson tried one of his usual attack lines on the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and his team, the Labour front bench began to wave farewell, in unison.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022
Brook Park Branch, 6155 Engle Road, and Brook Park Botanical and Garden Club, will team up to create an attractive garden area along the south side of the library building, and to place a planter beside the library’s front bench.
—Rich Heileman, cleveland, 8 Apr. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'front bench.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1889, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near front bench
Cite this Entry
“Front bench.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/front%20bench. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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