forerunner

American  

[fawr-ruhn-er, fohr-, fawr-ruhn-er, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌrʌn ər, ˈfoʊr-, fɔrˈrʌn ər, foʊr- /

noun

• forerunners
  plural

1. predecessor; ancestor; forebear; precursor.

2. an omen, sign, or indication of something to follow; portent.

   The warm evenings were a forerunner of summer.

3. a person who goes or is sent in advance to announce the coming of someone or something that follows; herald; harbinger.

4. the Forerunner, John the Baptist.

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forerunner British  

/ ˈfɔːˌrʌnə /

noun

1. a person or thing that precedes another; precursor

2. a person or thing coming in advance to herald the arrival of someone or something; harbinger

3. an indication beforehand of something to follow; omen; portent

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• forerunners
  plural

Etymology

Origin of forerunner

First recorded in 1250–1300, forerunner is from the Middle English word forrenner. See fore-, runner

Explanation

A forerunner is someone or something that came before and paved the way for something today. Rotary phones were forerunners of today's complex cell phones. The prefix fore- in forerunner is a clue that this word has to do with things that came before. A forerunner is someone from the past who preceded someone today, making new things possible. In the NBA, players like Wilt Chamberlain were forerunners of centers who played later. Early, gigantic computers were forerunners of today's sleek sophisticated computers. George Washington was a forerunner of every US president who has served since. Make sure to thank forerunners for paving the way for the rest of us slackers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forerunner forerunners

Together they launched a website in 2013 that would become the forerunner to the present book.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The rule, originally implemented by the forerunner of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulator, defined pattern day traders as investors who executed four or more “day trades” within five business days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

The WTO's forerunner was responsible for negotiating the global agreements that reduced tariffs on trade in goods that helped bring about post-WWII prosperity.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

The Actor Awards ignored Erivo altogether, also skipping “Wicked: For Good” for the cast award that its forerunner was nominated for last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

But don’t run away with the idea that Uraniborg was entirely the forerunner of a modern observatory and technological complex.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Some private credit is packaged into collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, but they are far smaller and less complex than their subprime forerunners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

The flames would then be spread across the country for about 1,200 forerunners to relay.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2024

For our fruit-loving forerunners a few million years before we figured out cooking, a little squish was an easy cue that our food was ready to eat.

From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2024

The two states, Wari and Tiwanaku, were probably the greatest of the Inkas’ forerunners, and certainly the predecessors from whom they took the most.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• precursor