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

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Etymology

Origin of forerunner

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

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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

You might think of this novel as a rebuttal or counterpoint to its forerunner, a book that replaces roseate campus fantasy with spikier societal conflicts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Instead, a captain visited from Bletchley Park, the then-secret headquarters of the Government Code and Cypher School, the forerunner of GCHQ, and the base for Allied codebreaking.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

And in a section about advances in structural engineering, the museum presents one of its signature possessions—the 1878, 9-foot-high forerunner model of the Statue of Liberty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 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

But perhaps my aunt, my forerunner, caught in a slow life, let dreams grow and fade and after some months or years went toward what persisted.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

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

AMD was founded in 1969 by Jerry Sanders and other veterans of Fairchild Semiconductor, a pioneering developer of what were known as integrated circuits, the forerunners of modern chips.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

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

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2024

“As soon as this passed, then you have the start of what are the forerunners of modern airlines,” said Randall, like “American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2024

But the new High group, unlike all its forerunners, did not act upon instinct but knew what was needed to safeguard its position.

From "1984" by George Orwell

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