forwardmost

Forwardmost is an adjective meaning located at or nearest to the front, or the most forward in position. It can be used to describe points, edges, or elements that lead in a spatial arrangement. The form forward-most is also encountered.

In everyday use, forwardmost describes the item at the front of a line or queue, the edge of a structure facing forward, or the part of a vessel nearest the bow. In geography and navigation, it denotes the foremost point along a coastline or front of a fleet.

In computing and data organization, forwardmost refers to the first element in an ordered collection, such as a list or queue, i.e., the element to be processed next. In this sense it is often synonymous with head or front in data-structure terminology.

Etymology: the word is formed from forward and most and is related to the word foremost.

See also: foremost, anterior, front, head.