pioneer.
One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow.
Meaning & usage
One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow.
A person or other entity who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress.
Some people will consider their national heroes to be pioneers of civilization.
Certain politicians can be considered as pioneers of reform.
A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances; a sapper.
A member of any of several European organizations advocating abstinence from alcohol.
A member of a children’s organization operated by the Communist Party, typically in the second of three stages toward becoming a member of the Party itself.
Alternative letter-case form of Pioneer (“A Singaporean born on or before 31 December 1949, who is entitled to various healthcare and social support schemes.”).
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ped- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *pṓds Proto-Italic *pets Latin pēs Proto-Indo-European *-ōder. Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder.? Latin -ō Late Latin pedōnem Old French peon Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Old French -ier Old French peonier Middle French pionnierder. English pioneer From Middle French pionnier (“originally, a foot soldier”), Old French peonier, from peon (“a foot soldier”) (modern French: pion). See pawn (in chess).
To be the first to do or achieve (something), preparing the way for others to follow.
The young doctor pioneered a new life-saving surgical technique.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ped- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *pṓds Proto-Italic *pets Latin pēs Proto-Indo-European *-ōder. Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder.? Latin -ō Late Latin pedōnem Old French peon Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Old French -ier Old French peonier Middle French pionnierder. English pioneer From Middle French pionnier (“originally, a foot soldier”), Old French peonier, from peon (“a foot soldier”) (modern French: pion). See pawn (in chess).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.