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• pioneer
  pioneer

  noun

  a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.
• Pioneer
  Pioneer

  noun

  a total abstainer from alcoholic drink, esp a member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, a society devoted to abstention

pioneer

American  

[pahy-uh-neer] / ˌpaɪ əˈnɪər /

noun

• pioneers
  plural

1. a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.

2. a person, group, or thing that is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or development.

   a woman who was a pioneer in cancer research;

   vehicles that were pioneers of automotive engineering.

   Synonyms:

   innovator, groundbreaker, trailblazer, leader

3. one of a group of foot soldiers detailed to make roads, dig intrenchments, etc., in advance of the main body.

4. Ecology. an organism that successfully establishes itself in a barren area, thus starting an ecological cycle of life.

5. Aerospace. Pioneer, one of a series of U.S. space probes that explored the solar system and transmitted scientific information to earth.

6. Pioneer, (formerly) a member of a Communist organization in the Soviet Union for children ranging in age from 10 to 16.

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verb (used without object)

• pioneers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pioneered,
  past participle,  past
• pioneering
  present participle

1. to act as a pioneer.

verb (used with object)

• pioneers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pioneered,
  past participle,  past
• pioneering
  present participle

1. to be the first to open or prepare (a way, settlement, etc.).

2. to take part in the beginnings of; initiate.

   to pioneer an aid program.

3. to lead the way for (a group); trailblaze.

adjective

1. being the earliest, original, first of a particular kind, etc..

   a pioneer method of adult education.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of pioneers.

   pioneer justice.

3. being a pioneer.

   a pioneer fur trader.

pioneer ¹ British  

/ ˌpaɪəˈnɪə /

noun

1. 1. a colonist, explorer, or settler of a new land, region, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pioneer wagon

2. an innovator or developer of something new

3. military a member of an infantry group that digs entrenchments, makes roads, etc

4. ecology the first species of plant or animal to colonize an area of bare ground

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verb

1. to be a pioneer (in or of)

2. (tr) to initiate, prepare, or open up

   to pioneer a medical programme

Pioneer ² British  

/ ˌpaɪəˈnɪə /

noun

1. a total abstainer from alcoholic drink, esp a member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, a society devoted to abstention

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Pioneer ³ British  

/ ˌpaɪəˈnɪə /

noun

1. any of a series of US spacecraft that studied the solar system, esp Pioneer 10, which made the first flyby of Jupiter (1973), and Pioneer 11, which made the first flyby of Saturn (1979)

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pioneers
  plural

Participles

• pioneering
  present
• pioneered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pioneer
  simple
• pioneers
  simple
• have pioneered
  perfect
• has pioneered
  perfect
• am pioneering
  progressive
• are pioneering
  progressive
• is pioneering
  progressive
• have been pioneering
  perfect progressive
• has been pioneering
  perfect progressive

Past

• pioneered
  simple
• had pioneered
  perfect
• was pioneering
  progressive
• were pioneering
  progressive
• had been pioneering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pioneer
  simple
• will have pioneered
  perfect
• will be pioneering
  progressive
• will have been pioneering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pioneer

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French pionier, Old French peonier “foot soldier”; see origin at peon ¹, -eer

Explanation

A pioneer is one of the first settlers in a new place. If you desperately want to experience life in space, maybe you will be one of the pioneers who live in the first moon settlement. Pioneer comes from the old French for foot soldier or laborer, and particularly for groups of soldiers that would go out ahead of the rest of the troops to prepare the way. The European settlers who came to America in the 16th century are known as pioneers, as are the later groups who traveled West in the 18th and 19th centuries. We also use pioneer for anyone who takes initiative in a field, such as science or education.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pioneer Pioneer pioneers pioneered pioneering

Interest in the firm grew after it scored a huge win with an investment in artificial intelligence pioneer OpenAI in January 2023, just months after the debut of ChatGPT.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

The three countries have a growing number of startups recognised worldwide, such as online reselling platform Vinted, rideshare service Bolt and videotelephony pioneer Skype.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Thrive only began its sports investment arm in April, with an investment in the San Francisco Giants baseball team, which was the pioneer in sport-based dynamic pricing of tickets.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

He said Jackie had been a bit of a pioneer in the world of agriculture in Galloway.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Many of these artists had been encouraged to leave the South by pioneer civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois, who was also the editor of The Crisis magazine, the journal of the NAACP.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

The early years were dominated by emerging electronics companies such as JVC, Panasonic, Pioneer and Sharp.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

He would go on to become one of the greatest players in the history of the program, leading the Toreros to back-to-back Pioneer League championships.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Maritime risk management firm Vanguard reported that the engine room of the Liberia-flagged Minoan Pioneer was hit and that one sailor was missing.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

In Massachusetts, the right-leaning Pioneer Institute has recently issued a brief calling for the adoption of policies to encourage the construction of smaller and less expensive “starter” homes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

Using a gangplank hastily hammered together from wooden boards, refugees from Da Nang disembark from the US Military Sealift Command ship Pioneer Contender at Cam Ranh Bay 1975.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Delta and United have been among the pioneers of segmentation in economy, and they’ve also focused on attracting richer flyers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

The duo were pioneers of the aerobics craze that gripped the nation during that decade and helped create the National Aerobic Championship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

His parents didn’t agree, so he struggled with various cobbled-together instruments and learned songs by Buddy Holly and other rock pioneers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Throughout the match, India's players repeatedly paid tribute to the pioneers who had laid the foundations of women's cricket in the country, insisting that this moment belonged to them too.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Steve Jobs: February 24,1955 Another of the pioneers of the software revolution was Eric Schmidt.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

The feature-length archival documentaries Mr. Doherty describes in detail in his book are “not high-profile titles”—it would take years for the techniques they pioneered to be perfected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had pioneered a new brand of comedy, soothed postwar America’s psyche and made a nation laugh again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Whittle's work went on to see the technology he pioneered put Britain at the forefront of post-war aircraft design, leading to aircraft like the twin tail-boom De Havilland Vampire and the Avro Vulcan.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

“Clint really pioneered in that election the idea of running competing ballot measures,” Ross said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Those who found the team research Lawrence pioneered uncongenial simply moved on, but they were a distinct minority.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

The pioneering experiment was carried out using OtaNano, Finland's national research infrastructure for nano, micro and quantum technology.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Former Toyota head Hiroshi Okuda, credited with championing the pioneering Prius hybrid and turning the Japanese automaker into a global titan, has died aged 93, the firm said Wednesday.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The pioneering startup in its earliest days had to install hardware at some restaurants to ensure a client could work with digital bookings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Sierra, which builds customer-service AI agents, is largely credited for pioneering the outcome-based pricing model.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

John Lawrence became interested in radiation medicine through his work with the pioneering neurosurgeon Harvey Williams Cushing at Harvard.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik