Synonyms

pioneering

American

[pahy-uh-neer-ing] / ˌpaɪ əˈnɪər ɪŋ /

adjective

being a pioneer, one of the first to settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.

This early pioneering family helped open up western Victoria in Australia.
being among the first in any field of inquiry or activity; being among those spearheading an initiative of some kind.

Ours is a pioneering institution, continually advancing the understanding of medicine through groundbreaking research.
Ecology. (of an organism) successfully establishing itself in a barren area, thus starting an ecological cycle of life.

Pioneering species can initiate recovery on drastically disturbed sites like that of the former gas plant.

noun

the act or process of being a pioneer; the early settling of land, or the first forays into some type of activity.

I read about that forward-thinking doctor in an article on the pioneering of in vitro fertilization.

Other Word Forms

unpioneering adjective

Etymology

Origin of pioneering

First recorded in 1700–10; pioneer ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; pioneer ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

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.

"Increasing investments and cooperation in matters of renewable energies and critical minerals is at the core of the pioneering agreement that we have signed today," Lula said.

From Barron's

People know them — the pioneering flier and the Teamsters union president — because both of them vanished dramatically.

From Los Angeles Times

Hall, a professor at Britain's University of Southampton known for her pioneering research into web systems, said that the gender imbalance had long been stark.

From Barron's

“At AppLovin, we’re pioneering the future of social connectivity by building a next-generation platform that redefines how people create, share and engage with content,” the company said in its job posting.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023