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Synonyms

trailblazer

American  
[treyl-bley-zer] / ˈtreɪlˌbleɪ zər /

noun

  1. a person who blazes blaze a trail for others to follow through unsettled country or wilderness; pathfinder.

  2. a pioneer in any field of endeavor.

    a trailblazer in science.
trailblazer British  
/ ˈtreɪlˌbleɪzə /

noun

  1. a leader or pioneer in a particular field

  2. a person who blazes a trail

"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

Other Word Forms

  • trailblazing adjective

Etymology

Origin of trailblazer

First recorded in 1905–10; trail + blaze 2 + -er 1

Compare meaning

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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.

Gina Carano is a trailblazer in women’s mixed martial arts.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

And yet, one is being hailed a trailblazer, while the other is deemed a traitor.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

OpenAI, the trailblazer for modern AI and the world’s most valuable startup, has committed to $1.4 trillion of infrastructure spending in the coming years.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 24, 2026

He was a pragmatic justice, not an ideological trailblazer, and he approached cases with an intense focus on the facts and law before him, with a deep respect for legal precedent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Some people thought Izzy dressed "weird," but I thought she was a trailblazer.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

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.