Near riot breaks out at the front (8)
I believe the answer is:
anterior
'at the front' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'near riot breaks out' is the wordplay.
'breaks out' indicates an anagram.
'near'+'riot'='nearriot'
'nearriot' anagrammed gives 'ANTERIOR'.
(Other definitions for anterior that I've seen before include "Previous, to the fore" , "Nearer the front; prior (to)" , "Coming before in position or time" , "Located before, in time or place" , "Nearer the front; earlier" .)