frontage

IPA/ˈfrʌntɪdʒ/
KK[frˈʌntɪdʒ]IPA/ˈfrʌntɪdʒ/

frontage — noun

  • frontagesingular
  • frontagesplural

1. the outward face along which a building meets a road, river, or sea — or the str

1.nounC1
Definition

the outward face along which a building meets a road, river, or sea — or the strip of ground belonging to it along that edge.

Example

The bakery's frontage on Market Street had two large display windows full of cakes.

frontage on [road] — building face toward a street

Christopher bought the cottage for its thirty metres of river frontage behind the garden.

[number] metres of [river] frontage — quantified land along water

Common collocations
  • street frontage
  • river frontage
  • shop frontage
  • beach frontage
  • feet of frontage
Synonyms
  • facade

    the decorated outer face of a building only — does not cover the land in front

  • waterfront

    specifically land along a body of water; narrower than frontage

Antonyms
  • rear

    the back of a building or plot, opposite of frontage

Grammar Patterns

[building] has [number] metres/feet of frontage

[business] with frontage on [road/water]

Usage Note

Frequently followed by 'on' + a road, river, or water feature. Often quantified in metres or feet when describing real-estate value.

Common Mistakes

The house has a big frontage to the lake.
The house has a big frontage on the lake.
'frontage' takes 'on', not 'to'.

2. the compass direction that the front of a building or piece of land points in —

2.nounC2
Definition

the compass direction that the front of a building or piece of land points in — for example, south or north-west.

Example

Buyers in Hong Kong pay extra for a flat with a southern frontage and afternoon sun.

[compass] frontage — orientation of a property

Daichi explained that the temple's eastern frontage was chosen to catch the first light of the morning.

eastern frontage — ritual reason for orientation

Common collocations
  • southern frontage
  • northern frontage
  • easterly frontage
  • westerly frontage
Synonyms
  • aspect

    more common everyday word for the direction a building faces

  • orientation

    broader; covers any object's directional alignment

Grammar Patterns

[building] has [compass] frontage

frontage to the [direction]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this is the abstract direction, not the physical face. Almost always paired with a compass word (northern, south-facing, easterly).

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe how a building meets the space in front of it, but they cover different things. 'Frontage' is the broadest in real-estate use: it can mean either the building's front face OR the strip of ground along a road or water that the property controls — hence 'fifty feet of river frontage'. 'Facade' is narrower and more architectural: only the decorated outer wall, never the land. 'Waterfront' refers specifically to land touching a river, lake, or sea — you cannot say a shop has 'waterfront on Main Street'. 'Aspect' is the everyday word for which compass direction a building faces ('a south-facing aspect'), where 'frontage' would sound technical. So: facade for the wall, frontage for the wall plus ground, waterfront for shore land only, aspect for the direction.

frontage ↗facade ↗waterfront ↗aspect ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • street frontage
  • river frontage
  • shop frontage
  • beach frontage
  • road frontage
  • lake frontage

Phrases

  • feet of frontage
  • metres of frontage
  • narrow frontage
  • wide frontage

Prepositions

  • frontage on
  • frontage onto
  • frontage to

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Formed in English in the early 19th century from 'front' (the foremost face of something) plus the noun-forming suffix '-age', which originally came from Latin '-aticum' via Old French. The '-age' suffix builds nouns of quantity, place, or condition (compare 'acreage', 'mileage', 'storage'). So 'frontage' literally means 'the quantity or extent of front' — which fits both senses: the measurable face of a building and the measurable strip of land along a road or water.