innovator

American  

[in-uh-vay-ter] / ˈɪn əˌveɪ tər /

noun

• innovators
  plural

1. a person or group that introduces something new or does something for the first time.

   He is a true pioneer and innovator who always pushes the boundaries and follows his visions.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• innovators
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of innovator

First recorded in 1590–1600; Late Latin innovātor, equivalent to Latin innovāt(us) + -or -or ² ( def. ); see innovate ( def. )

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Explanation

Innovators innovate — that is, they create new ideas or ways of doing things. The Wright brothers were the ultimate innovators: they were the first to fly. The Unites States has a reputation as a country of innovators because, for generations, many of the world's most exciting new ideas came from its people and companies. Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Mark Zuckerberg: these are just three of the innovators who pioneered whole new technologies and industries. No one had thought the way they did before. Anyone who blazes a trail into new territory can be an innovator — athletes, artists, business people, and chefs, to name just a few.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

innovator innovators

Many business risks that Anthropic enumerates seem to validate China’s growing heft as an AI innovator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The way they are dealing with these calls is attracting attention from around the globe - I wanted to find out how it's going, and if Wales is an outlier or an innovator?

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

“Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has been sampled nearly 200 times, and covered by everyone from R&B innovator D’Angelo to Brazilian singer-actor Seu Jorge.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

By 2011, the company needed a manager of innovative talent more than a singular innovator.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

New York City was a clear innovator in police strategies during the 1990s crime drop, and it also enjoyed the greatest decline in crime of any large American city.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Like the railroads, like the oil business, the Silicon Valley creators and innovators began as hoodie-wearing outsider heroes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

So AI users using the technology to work more efficiently become more valuable to them than the actual innovators, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

But that’s exactly how to make AI work best—by letting innovators and consumers drive its development and use, based on their distinct and disparate knowledge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

The Independent highlights its Climate 100 - the "changemakers and innovators helping turn the time on our climate crisis".

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

As we see time and again, cutting-edge innovators like those of Beethoven’s youth were composers whose names are now mosdy forgotten: Johann Dussek, Louis Spohr, Muzio Clementi, Etienne Mehul, Fran^ois-Joseph Gossec .

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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