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avant-poste

outpost

noun ah-vahn-POST Rare
Travel & Places Landmarks

Usage Note

Avant-poste is a military term for a forward position beyond main lines. The plural is avant-postes. Figuratively it can mean a pioneering or frontier role, as in un avant-poste de la recherche (an outpost of research). The hyphen is standard; some texts write it solid but the hyphenated form is the norm.

Examples

"Les soldats tenaient l'avant-poste sous les bombes."

Natural Translation

The soldiers held the outpost under bombardment.

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