Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Fore?

\Fore\, n. [AS. f?r, fr. faran to go. See {Fare}, v. i.] Journey; way; method of proceeding. [Obs.] ``Follow him and his fore.'' --Chaucer.
\Fore\, adv. [AS. fore, adv. & prep., another form of for. See {For}, and cf. {Former}, {Foremost}.] 1. In the part that precedes or goes first; -- opposed to aft, after, back, behind, etc. 2. Formerly; previously; afore. [Obs. or Colloq.] The eyes, fore duteous, now converted are. --Shak. 3. (Naut.) In or towards the bows of a ship. {Fore and aft} (Naut.), from stem to stern; lengthwise of the vessel; -- in distinction from athwart. --R. H. Dana, Jr. {Fore-and-aft rigged} (Naut.), not rigged with square sails attached to yards, but with sails bent to gaffs or set on stays in the midship line of the vessel. See {Schooner}, {Sloop}, {Cutter}.
\Fore\, a. [See {Fore}, adv.] Advanced, as compared with something else; toward the front; being or coming first, in time, place, order, or importance; preceding; anterior; antecedent; earlier; forward; -- opposed to {back} or {behind}; as, the fore part of a garment; the fore part of the day; the fore and of a wagon. The free will of the subject is preserved, while it is directed by the fore purpose of the state. --Southey. Note: Fore is much used adjectively or in composition. {Fore bay}, a reservoir or canal between a mill race and a water wheel; the discharging end of a pond or mill race. {Fore body} (Shipbuilding), the part of a ship forward of the largest cross-section, distinguisched from middle body abd after body. {Fore boot}, a receptacle in the front of a vehicle, for stowing baggage, etc. {Fore bow}, the pommel of a saddle. --Knight. {Fore cabin}, a cabin in the fore part of a ship, usually with inferior accommodations. {Fore carriage}. (a) The forward part of the running gear of a four-wheeled vehicle. (b) A small carriage at the front end of a plow beam. {Fore course} (Naut.), the lowermost sail on the foremost of a square-rigged vessel; the foresail. See Illust. under {Sail}. {Fore door}. Same as {Front door}. {Fore edge}, the front edge of a book or folded sheet, etc. {Fore elder}, an ancestor. [Prov. Eng.] {Fore end}. (a) The end which precedes; the earlier, or the nearer, part; the beginning. I have . . . paid More pious debts to heaven, than in all The fore end of my time. --Shak. (b) In firearms, the wooden stock under the barrel, forward of the trigger guard, or breech frame. {Fore girth}, a girth for the fore part (of a horse, etc.); a martingale. {Fore hammer}, a sledge hammer, working alternately, or in time, with the hand hammer. {Fore leg}, one of the front legs of a quadruped, or multiped, or of a chair, settee, etc. {Fore peak} (Naut.), the angle within a ship's bows; the portion of the hold which is farthest forward. {Fore piece}, a front piece, as the flap in the fore part of a sidesaddle, to guard the rider's dress. {Fore plane}, a carpenter's plane, in size and use between a jack plane and a smoothing plane. --Knight. {Fore reading}, previous perusal. [Obs.] --Hales. {Fore rent}, in Scotland, rent payable before a crop is gathered. {Fore sheets} (Naut.), the forward portion of a rowboat; the space beyond the front thwart. See {Stern sheets}. {Fore shore}. (a) A bank in advance of a sea wall, to break the force of the surf. (b) The seaward projecting, slightly inclined portion of a breakwater. --Knight. (c) The part of the shore between high and low water marks. {Fore sight}, that one of the two sights of a gun which is near the muzzle. {Fore tackle} (Naut.), the tackle on the foremast of a ship. {Fore topmast}. (Naut.) See {Fore-topmast}, in the Vocabulary. {Fore wind}, a favorable wind. [Obs.] Sailed on smooth seas, by fore winds borne. --Sandys. {Fore world}, the antediluvian world. [R.] --Southey.
\Fore\, n. The front; hence, that which is in front; the future. {At the fore} (Naut.), at the fore royal masthead; -- said of a flag, so raised as a signal for sailing, etc. {To the fore}. (a) In advance; to the front; to a prominent position; in plain sight; in readiness for use. (b) In existence; alive; not worn out, lost, or spent, as money, etc. [Irish] ``While I am to the fore.'' --W. Collins. ``How many captains in the regiment had two thousand pounds to the fore?'' --Thackeray.
\Fore\, prep. Before; -- sometimes written 'fore as if a contraction of afore or before. [Obs.]