- present participle of pioneer.
pioneering
Americanadjective
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being a pioneer, one of the first to settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.
This early pioneering family helped open up western Victoria in Australia.
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being among the first in any field of inquiry or activity; being among those spearheading an initiative of some kind.
Ours is a pioneering institution, continually advancing the understanding of medicine through groundbreaking research.
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Ecology. (of an organism) successfully establishing itself in a barren area, thus starting an ecological cycle of life.
Pioneering species can initiate recovery on drastically disturbed sites like that of the former gas plant.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pioneering
First recorded in 1700–10; pioneer ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; pioneer ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun sense
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For Jutta Ambrositsch, a pioneering figure among the new wave of Viennese winemakers, "the major problem is insensitive and careless real estate development in the 'heurigen areas'".
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Completed in 1902, the building was an architectural marvel with a pioneering steel-frame construction making it one of the city's first skyscrapers.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
He has turned Regeneron into one of the world’s most valuable drug companies, with a market cap of roughly $70 billion, by repeatedly pioneering technologies that opened up entirely new classes of blockbuster drugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
So beloved is the chandelier that each model is named after one of the show’s pioneering creatives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
He would later go on to do some of the world’s pioneering work in attention science, alongside the senior Mackworth.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
