pioneer

[ pahy-uh-neer ]

/ ˌpaɪ əˈnɪər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pioneer 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.

one who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress: pioneers in cancer research.

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.

Origin of pioneer

1515–25; < Middle French pionier, Old French peonier foot soldier. See peon¹, -eer

SYNONYMS FOR pioneer

2 leader, trailblazer, forerunner, pathfinder.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pioneer ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM pioneer

un·pi·o·neer·ing, adjective

Words nearby pioneer

pinza, pinzón, pio, piolet, pion, pioneer, pioneer day, pioneers, the, piopio, piosity, pious

Definition for pioneers (2 of 2)

Pioneers, The

noun

a historical novel (1823) by James Fenimore Cooper.

Compare Leather-Stocking Tales.

Example sentences from the Web for pioneers

We worked in the cultural arena instead, with pioneers like Ellen and Will & Grace.

Dear Evangelicals: You’re Being Had |Jay Michaelson |November 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In many ways, Kansas City is a leaving town, a place for pioneers and rovers with an eye on the distant horizon.

Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History |Katie Baker |October 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
As pioneers of experiential art, the duo wanted to blur the lines between reality and cartoonish fantasy.

New York City’s New Mystery Art Piece |Sara Sayed |September 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
When the pioneers reached Toledo it was called “Frogtown” because the place was a swamp.

Toledo: The Town Too Tough for Toxic Water |P. J. O’Rourke |August 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

In a TED talk she delivered this year, Patton said that the general was the grandson of early California pioneers.

The Price of Being a Patton: Wrestling With the Legacy of America’s Most Famous General |Tim Teeman |May 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
While the pioneers at the Old Port were on the verge of starvation, the 'Clonmel' men were living in luxury.

The Book of the Bush |George Dunderdale
There were six thousand pioneers with hatchets, pickaxes, and crowbars for levelling roads.

Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada |Washington Irving
He was an ardent botanist, a collector of insects and molluscs, and one of the pioneers in the anatomy of birds.

Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His Life And Work |P. Chalmers Mitchell
Perhaps in the development of the truth the cross-redeemers come first; they are the pioneers.

Crowds |Gerald Stanley Lee
Whom was Jasper to believe—the confident Indian or the pioneers?

In The Boyhood of Lincoln |Hezekiah Butterworth

British Dictionary definitions for pioneers (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 up to 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 pioneers (2 of 3)

Pioneer ¹

/ (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 pioneers (3 of 3)

Pioneer ²

/ (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)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pioneer

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

adjective

Origin of pioneer

SYNONYMS FOR pioneer

OTHER WORDS FROM pioneer

Words nearby pioneer

Definition for pioneers (2 of 2)

noun

Example sentences from the Web for pioneers

British Dictionary definitions for pioneers (1 of 3)

noun

verb

Word Origin for pioneer

British Dictionary definitions for pioneers (2 of 3)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for pioneers (3 of 3)

noun

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pioneer

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

adjective

Origin of pioneer

SYNONYMS FOR pioneer

OTHER WORDS FROM pioneer

Words nearby pioneer

Definition for pioneers (2 of 2)

noun

Words related to pioneers

Example sentences from the Web for pioneers

British Dictionary definitions for pioneers (1 of 3)

noun

verb

Word Origin for pioneer

British Dictionary definitions for pioneers (2 of 3)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for pioneers (3 of 3)

noun