forerun
Americanverb (used with object)
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to run in front of; come before; precede.
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to be the precursor or harbinger of; prefigure.
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to anticipate or foretell.
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to forestall.
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to outrun or outstrip.
verb
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to serve as a herald for
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to go before; precede
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to prevent or forestall
Etymology
Origin of forerun
1505–15; fore- + run; probably not continuous with Middle English forerennen (intransitive) to run ahead, Old English fōryrnan
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.
See Examples For:
It may, however, forerun a wartime wave of back-to-the-bed "escape" novels.
From Time Magazine Archive
But like many other incredible conceptions which have forerun their own still more incredible fulfillment, the very thought electrifies us with hope and courage.
From The Destiny of the Soul A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life by Alger, William Rounseville
Yet this I have ever noted when thou wast thus, It still forerun some strange event: my Sister Died when thou wast thus last: hark hark, ho, What mournfull noise is this comes creeping forward?
From The Mad Lover The Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher (3 of 10) by Beaumont, Francis
Was Eginhard, a youth of Frankish race, Whose face was bright with flashes that forerun The splendors of a yet unrisen sun.
From The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
No, no, doubtless he was deceived, and it was but one of those dreams that forerun death!
From The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas père, Alexandre
Acoustics, we think, foreran somewhat the science of heat, as the science of heat preceded that of light.
From Notable Events of the Nineteenth Century Great Deeds of Men and Nations and the Progress of the World by Ridpath, John Clark
Faintly on this other hand the voices of the ladies returning from the garden foreran them.
From Kincaid's Battery by Kimball, Alonzo
He started forward to meet the intruder, but there was no footstep—no sound save the hurrying gusts that foreran the approaching tempest.
From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 by Roby, John
He foreran the societies which insure against accident, and would guarantee whole bones for a year or a lifetime, according to the insurer's purse or fancy.
From Julia And Her Romeo: A Chronicle Of Castle Barfield From "Schwartz" by David Christie Murray by Murray, David Christie
In him, though the soul's forces were not feeble, the senses foreran them,--compelled them, sometimes conquered them.
From Mercy Philbrick's Choice by Jackson, Helen Hunt
Here’s a timeline of Steve Bannon’s White House months and the forerunning campaign role:
From The Guardian ● Aug. 18, 2017
A finger forerunning his eyes along the page.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Imaginative forecast of the future is this forerunning quality of behavior rendered available for guidance in the present.
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Bode, Boyd H.
It would be interesting, if our present purposes only warranted the undertaking, to trace the forerunning conditions of a period of scientific endeavour.
From The Will to Doubt An essay in philosophy for the general thinker by Lloyd, Alfred H.
These Acts the people are much rejoiced with, as being words forerunning their freedom, and they wait for their accomplishment that their joy may be full.
From The Digger Movement in the Days of the Commonwealth As Revealed in the Writings of Gerrard Winstanley, the Digger, Mystic and Rationalist, Communist and Social Reformer by Berens, Lewis Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
