front burner

noun

Definition of front burner

: the condition of being in active consideration or development : a position of priority —usually used in the phrase on the front burner — compare back burner

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front-burner

adjective

See front burner defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of front burner from the Web

It was nestled among condiments on the counter and his fingertips got barely past the front burner, where an empty frying pan waited to be greased.

— chicago tribune, chicagotribune.com, "Algren Award runner-up: "Lizard Lover" by Christine Vines," 2 June 2018
On the front burner, for now, however, is the Clark shooting.

— NBC News, "Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg offers measured response in wake of unrest," 7 Apr. 2018
On their front burner now is a projected budget shortfall exacerbated by the surge in popularity of tuition-free dual-credit programs for high school students.

— alia malik, San Antonio Express-News, "Four Alamo Colleges trustees face re-election challenges," 7 Apr. 2018
Fire investigators determined one of the occupants of the apartment was cooking french fries on the stove when the grease spilled out of the skillet and onto the front burner, Reith said.

— holly v. hays, Indianapolis Star, "4 firefighters injured battling south-side apartment fire," 2 Feb. 2018
By raising Jerusalem as an issue, Trump put it back on the front burner of the region’s politics.

— fred kaplan, Slate Magazine, "Getting Kicked, Taking Names," 21 Dec. 2017
But for now there’s not even room for it on the front burner as lawmakers, just back from a five-week summer recess, face a series of more immediate tasks.

— erica werner, The Seattle Times, "Congress to speed up Harvey aid, tackle debt limit," 5 Sep. 2017
The relationship between the two men has hit rocky terrain at a time when the administration has put its push for tax reform on the front burner -- a high-profile gambit in which Cohn is playing a central role.

— jeremy diamond, sara murray and kaitlan collins, CNN, "Trump stews over top adviser, but tax reform looms," 31 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'front burner.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.