Showing results for "pioneering"

• present participle of pioneer.

pioneering

American  

[pahy-uh-neer-ing] / ˌpaɪ əˈnɪər ɪŋ /

adjective

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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noun

1. 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

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pioneering

William H. Draper III, a pioneering Silicon Valley venture capitalist, died on Sept. 8 at the age of 98.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

She was someone who co-founded a pioneering nonprofit in the crucible of a changing South L.A. in the 1990s and always seemed to land on the right side of history until becoming mayor in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

"This is the pioneering study showing that polyethylene can contribute to fatty liver disease and the use of spatial transcriptomics has determined exactly where the damage has happened within the liver," Joshi said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Another name often cited among commentators is Taiwanese-American biochemist Chi-Huey Wong for pioneering synthesis methods for complex carbohydrates and glycoproteins.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

That was surely a factor in his becoming perhaps the most accomplished American physicist not to receive a Nobel Prize, but it does not mean he failed to do pioneering research.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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Related Words

• advanced
• ahead of its time
• experimental
• groundbreaking
• innovative
• innovatory
• inventive
• modern
• new
• original
• progressive
• revolutionary
• state-of-the-art
• trailblazing
• ultramodern
• unorthodox

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