frontier

/frənˈtɪər/

/frənˈtɪə/

Other forms: frontiers

A frontier represents uncharted territory. It could be a remote piece of land or a new field of study, but if someone calls it "the frontier," you are challenged to explore it.

The noun frontier has several meanings. It can refer to the wilderness at the edge of a settled area (picture covered wagons pushing westward) or it can mean a field of study that has not yet been explored (picture genetically engineering pet dinosaurs). Deriving from "the front line of an army," a frontier can be thought of as an offensive line in a battle — always pushing forward, trying to conquer new territory.

Definitions of frontier

1. noun

   a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
   “the individualism of the frontier in Andrew Jackson's day”

   type of:

   wild, wilderness

   a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition
2. noun

   an international boundary or the area (often fortified) immediately inside the boundary
   examples:

   Triple Frontier

   the border area where Argentina and Brazil and Paraguay meet; an active South American center for contraband and drug trafficking and money laundering; a suspected locale for Islamic extremist groups

   type of:

   bound, boundary, bounds

   the line or plane indicating the limit or extent of something
3. noun

   an undeveloped field of study; a topic inviting research and development
   “he worked at the frontier of brain science”

   type of:

   bailiwick, discipline, field, field of study, study, subject, subject area, subject field

   a branch of knowledge