Synonyms

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

When will Santos blaze a trail to join her?

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2023

"Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists," he wrote on social media.

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2022

Then, taking the mail, he went on ahead to blaze a trail we should follow with the sleds.

From Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Stewart, Elinore Pruitt

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