blaze a trail

Idioms

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]

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.

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

People blaze a trail so that other people can walk down it without getting pricked by thorns.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2025

But, through attending college, she is excited to blaze a trail in a new career.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 17, 2023

When will Santos blaze a trail to join her?

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2023

Ask who was the first man to blaze a trail into this wilderness; and wherever you may point, the answer is the same—the French trapper.

From The Story of the Trapper by Laut, A. C.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023