blaze a trail

Idioms  

1. Find a new path or method; begin a new undertaking. For example, His research blazed a trail for new kinds of gene therapy. This expression was first used literally in the 18th century for the practice of marking a forest trail by making blazes, that is, marking trees with notches or chips in the bark. [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

One of the first to blaze a trail was Alek Wek, scouted in London in the 1990s after her family fled an earlier war.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

And how did he blaze a trail to become one Britain's first Asian MPs?

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2024

“I hope I can kind of blaze a trail for them to one day say, hey, because Josh Sims did it, I can do it, too. And that’s what’s important.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 18, 2023

When will Santos blaze a trail to join her?

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2023

If you wish to blaze a trail correctly, you must place your mark accurately on the right tree and on the right side of the tree.

From Indian Scout Talks A Guide for Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls by Eastman, Charles A.