pathbreaker
Americannoun
-
a person who blazes a trail or path; pathfinder.
-
a pioneer or innovator.
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.
Like Snider’s “Forward,” this work was also dedicated to a female pathbreaker: the soprano Dorothy Maynor, who founded this school in the 1960s.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2022
The retired Army general was widely praised as a pathbreaker, having been the first Black person to serve as U.S. secretary of state and as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 21, 2021
Ilhan Omar: The first-term Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota is a pathbreaker on many levels.
From Washington Post • Jan. 3, 2020
Barack Obama has become a pathbreaker in an unexpected way.
From US News • Mar. 2, 2015
Admired as a pathbreaker, Elizebeth is now regarded as a role model—a woman who excelled in a technical field through her courage, smarts, and grit.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
