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.
It may, however, forerun a wartime wave of back-to-the-bed "escape" novels.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
To forerun any possible apprehension that he was going to extricate himself and leave her, he held her with considerable firmness, whispering encouragement into her ear the while.
From The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton by Curtis, Wardon Allan
The comet was the talk, especially in the evening, of the world, as it was taken to forerun disasters.
From The Lincoln Story Book A Judicious Collection of the Best Stories and Anecdotes of the Great President, Many Appearing Here for the First Time in Book Form by Williams, Henry Llewellyn
Indeed, the signs of his fall, or those that forerun it, are terrible, and amazing to behold.
From Works of John Bunyan — Volume 02 by Bunyan, John
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.
