pioneer

[pahy-uh-neer]

noun

1. a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.

2. a person, group, or thing that is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or development.

   a woman who was a pioneer in cancer research;

   vehicles that were pioneers of automotive engineering.

   Synonyms: innovator, groundbreaker, trailblazer, leader

3. one of a group of foot soldiers detailed to make roads, dig intrenchments, etc., in advance of the main body.

4. Ecology.,  an organism that successfully establishes itself in a barren area, thus starting an ecological cycle of life.

5. Aerospace.,  Pioneer, one of a series of U.S. space probes that explored the solar system and transmitted scientific information to earth.

6. Pioneer, (formerly) a member of a Communist organization in the Soviet Union for children ranging in age from 10 to 16.

verb (used without object)

1. to act as a pioneer.

verb (used with object)

1. to be the first to open or prepare (a way, settlement, etc.).

2. to take part in the beginnings of; initiate.

   to pioneer an aid program.

3. to lead the way for (a group); trailblaze.

adjective

1. being the earliest, original, first of a particular kind, etc..

   a pioneer method of adult education.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of pioneers.

   pioneer justice.

3. being a pioneer.

   a pioneer fur trader.

pioneer

¹

/ ˌpaɪəˈnɪə /

noun

1. 1. a colonist, explorer, or settler of a new land, region, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pioneer wagon

2. an innovator or developer of something new

3. military a member of an infantry group that digs entrenchments, makes roads, etc

4. ecology the first species of plant or animal to colonize an area of bare ground

verb

1. to be a pioneer (in or of)

2. (tr) to initiate, prepare, or open up

   to pioneer a medical programme

Pioneer

²

/ ˌpaɪəˈnɪə /

noun

1. a total abstainer from alcoholic drink, esp a member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, a society devoted to abstention

Pioneer

³

/ ˌpaɪəˈnɪə /

noun

1. any of a series of US spacecraft that studied the solar system, esp Pioneer 10, which made the first flyby of Jupiter (1973), and Pioneer 11, which made the first flyby of Saturn (1979)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pioneer¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French pionier, Old French peonier “foot soldier”; peon ¹, -eer

Word History and Origins

Origin of pioneer¹

C16: from Old French paonier infantryman, from paon _pawn ²; see also _peon ¹

Example Sentences

The partial climbdown is not likely to result in an enormous bust-up – one of Angela Rayner's steadfast allies who pioneered the wider plans said they were a "little concerned" rather than frothing with rage.

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"If Zeina wants to wear a hijab, she could wear a cowboy hat for all I care. She's a pioneer."

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In the 1960s it pioneered “machine-readable cataloging,” or MARC, launching the digitization of library catalogs and a nationwide automated library network.

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Marvin Glass, whose firm’s origins date to the early 1940s, pioneered the idea of forming independent design studios to invent toys that could be licensed to toy manufacturers.

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A pioneering surgeon who carried out the first successful heart transplant in the UK has died aged 93.

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