What does frontier mean?
Word: Frontier
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Frontier means the border between two countries, or the far edge of land where few people live. It can also mean the edge of what is known, as in the frontiers of science.
Synonyms: border
How do you spell frontier?
Syllables: fron - tier
Tricky part: The ending is ier, with the i before the e, the same as in pier. Frontear and frontire are the usual slips.
Watch out for: frontear, frontire, frontiere
Memory tip: Think of a pier at the edge of the sea: a frontier is at the edge of a country, and both end in ier.
Frontier in a sentence
Example 1: Snow covers the frontier high in the mountains for half the year.
Example 2: The frontier between India and Nepal is open, so people cross it easily.
Example 3: Scientists who study the human brain are exploring a new frontier.
Fun Fact
Space is often called the final frontier, a phrase made famous by the television series Star Trek in the 1960s.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
frontier
a) boundary
b) valley
c) capital
d) centre
Show answer
a) boundary. A frontier is the line where one country's land ends and the next begins, which is a boundary.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) provinse
b) pasport
c) frontier
d) teritory
Show answer
c) frontier. Territory, province and passport are the correct forms, so frontier is the one spelt right.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Camels carry water to the villages along the desert fruntier.
a) villages
b) fruntier
c) water
d) camels
Show answer
b) fruntier. The first part is front, with an o, as in the front of a queue.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
noitrerf
a) frighten
b) interior
c) forester
d) frontier
Show answer
d) frontier. Interior needs a second i, forester an s and frighten a g and an h; only frontier fits.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. At a frontier between two countries, you are most likely to see ____.
a) guards checking passports at a gate
b) a well on a village street
c) a stall selling fresh vegetables
d) a playground full of children
Show answer
a) guards checking passports at a gate
2. Long ago, families who moved out to the frontier went to live ____.
a) in the most crowded cities
b) on wild land far from towns
c) inside the king's palace
d) on ships far out at sea
Show answer
b) on wild land far from towns
