early adopter

American  

[ur-lee uh-dop-ter] / ˈɜr li əˈdɒp tər /

noun

1. a person who uses a new product or technology before it becomes widely known or used.

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early adopter British  

noun

1. one of the first people or organizations to make use of a new technology

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Etymology

Origin of early adopter

First recorded in 1845–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

early adopter

"We recognise that experiences of accessing medicines can vary, and we welcome the move towards a national formulary, of which we are an early adopter site, and aims to support greater consistency across the NHS."

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

I was an early adopter of “bop” back when we were still using the word to classify the singular bounciness of Carly Rae Jepsen songs in 2015.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

Its corporate communications “was an early adopter and leverages the technology in a number of areas including copy-editing and proofreading, complementing rigorous team member reviews.”

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

Gil had been an early adopter of e-commerce after his old store folded, and he made a nice living selling books on eBay and Amazon.

From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026

He was an early adopter of every musical tool—including the Moog synthesizer—that he could get his hands on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026