pioneer

[ pahy-uh-neer ]

/ ˌpaɪ əˈnɪər /

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See synonyms for: pioneer / pioneered / pioneering / pioneers on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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.

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

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

(initial capital letter)Aerospace. one of a series of U.S. space probes that explored the solar system and transmitted scientific information to earth.

(initial capital letter) (formerly) a member of a Communist organization in the Soviet Union for children ranging in age from 10 to 16.Compare Komsomol, Octobrist.

verb (used without object)

to act as a pioneer.

verb (used with object)

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

to take part in the beginnings of; initiate: to pioneer an aid program.

to lead the way for (a group); guide.

adjective

being the earliest, original, first of a particular kind, etc.: a pioneer method of adult education.

of, relating to, or characteristic of pioneers: pioneer justice.

being a pioneer: a pioneer fur trader.

OTHER WORDS FOR pioneer

2 leader, trailblazer, forerunner, pathfinder.

See synonyms for pioneer on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of pioneer

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French pionier, Old French peonier “foot soldier”; see origin at peon¹, -eer

OTHER WORDS FROM pioneer

un·pi·o·neer·ing, adjective

Words nearby pioneer

Pinza, Pinzón, PIO, piolet, pion, pioneer, Pioneer Day, piopio, piosity, pious, Piozzi

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use pioneer in a sentence

Boston Dynamics is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of animal-like robots.
Boston Dynamics adds an ‘arm’ to its robotic dog Spot|Dalvin Brown|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
Following Hyundai acquisition, Boston Dynamics’ CEO discusses the robotics pioneer’s future
SoftBank teams with home-goods maker Iris Ohyama for new robotics venture|Brian Heater|January 27, 2021|TechCrunch
Since then, Wahl has been a trimmer technology pioneer, creating the first cordless rechargeable hair clipper in 1967, the first cordless beard and mustache trimmer in 1975, and the first vacuuming consumer beard trimmer in 2001.
The best beard trimmer: Shape your facial hair with ease|Carsen Joenk|January 19, 2021|Popular-Science
In addition, mRNA could in the future be used, as BioNTech and Moderna are pioneering, to fight cancer.
mRNA Technology Gave Us the First COVID-19 Vaccines. It Could Also Upend the Drug Industry|Walter Isaacson|January 11, 2021|Time

These characteristics are exactly the kind of attributes the SETI scientists have been looking for since the astronomer Frank Drake first began the pioneering initiative some 60 years ago.
SETI: New Signal Excites Alien Hunters—Here’s How We Could Find Out if It’s Real|Michael Garrett|January 7, 2021|Singularity Hub
Peter Christopherson made the leap to life on the bandstand and became a pioneer in the industrial music genre.
The Golden Age of Rock Album Covers|Ted Gioia|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His great-grandfather, David Yellin, was a prominent Zionist scholar and Israeli pioneer.
Trans in the Holy Land: ‘Marzipan Flowers,’ Tal Kallai, and the Shattering of Israel’s LGBT Taboos|Itay Hod|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The first pioneer to reach the riparian tributary where Kansas City now shimmers was, in fact, on the lam himself.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Carver was an agricultural and industrial pioneer—in more ways than one.
Growth Stocks|The Daily Beast|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And when he died, another agricultural pioneer was just starting to bring research to bear on food production.
Growth Stocks|The Daily Beast|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hamo in alluding to the early cultivation of tobacco by the colony, says, that John Rolfe was the pioneer tobacco planter.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Samuel Dale, an eminent pioneer in the settlement of the southwest, died in Lauderdale county, Mississippi.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Roosevelt was also the pioneer in using electro-pneumatic action here.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
His high-pressure steam-engine was the pioneer of locomotion and its wide-spreading civilization.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
Such is the story of a pioneer enterprise, that of the use of submarine vessels as commerce carriers.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pioneer (1 of 3)

pioneer

/ (ˌpaɪəˈnɪə) /

noun

a colonist, explorer, or settler of a new land, region, etc
(as modifier)a pioneer wagon

an innovator or developer of something new

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

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

verb

to be a pioneer (in or of)

(tr) to initiate, prepare, or open upto pioneer a medical programme

Word Origin for pioneer

C16: from Old French paonier infantryman, from paon pawn ²; see also peon 1

British Dictionary definitions for pioneer (2 of 3)

Pioneer¹

/ (ˌpaɪəˈnɪə) /

noun

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

British Dictionary definitions for pioneer (3 of 3)

Pioneer²

/ (ˌpaɪəˈnɪə) /

noun

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)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pioneer

OTHER WORDS FOR pioneer

Origin of pioneer

OTHER WORDS FROM pioneer

Words nearby pioneer

Words related to pioneer

How to use pioneer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pioneer (1 of 3)

Word Origin for pioneer

British Dictionary definitions for pioneer (2 of 3)

British Dictionary definitions for pioneer (3 of 3)