forerunner
noun
predecessor; ancestor; forebear; precursor.
forerunners
-
pluralof forerunner.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
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
Having Albert Brooks as a best friend likely molded his style too; both were forerunners of a school of comedy that merged a naturalistic, conversational delivery with an absurdist sensibility.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025
The flames would then be spread across the country for about 1,200 forerunners to relay.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 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
