From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpioneerpi‧o‧neer1 /ˌpaɪəˈnɪə $ -ˈnɪr/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 FIRSTsomeone who is important in the early development of something, and whose work or ideas are later developed by other peoplepioneer of John Whitney was a pioneer of computer animation. He was a pioneer in the field of biotechnology.2 FIRSTone of the first people to travel to a new country or area and begin living there, farming etc the early pioneers of the Dakota territory
Examples from the Corpus
pioneer• In terms of narratology, the author is almost a pioneer of postmodernism in his use of cyclical narrative.• I never once thought about being a pioneer.• Robey was a pioneer who gave black talent a shot, a black surviving in a racist industry.• Many of the early pioneers left after a long cold winter.• As with any racial pioneer, Davis' path was not easy.• I will bless thee, black-vested minister of optimism, stern pioneer of happiness!• There are people out there who really do see him as the pioneer of a computer-generated escape from reality.• He also had a working association with the civil engineer Robert Sabine, one of the pioneers of transatlantic telegraphy.• Earlie is one of a small but growing group of urban pioneers whose frontier is the central city.pioneerpioneer2 ●○○ verb [transitive] FIRSTto be the first person to do, invent, or use something The new cancer treatment was pioneered in the early eighties by Dr Sylvia Bannerjee.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
pioneer• It has exploited the internet to pioneer a model of global activism.• Heart-transplant surgery was pioneered by Professor Christian Barnard.• Newer stealth planes, including the B-2 bomber and the F-22, use the curve structure pioneered by Tacit Blue.• Although Garfield's tone is a little dry, Mauve is a fitting tribute to the man who pioneered industrial chemistry.• She pioneered one of the first televised courses for nursing education in 1961.• Brownell did pioneering research on the ill effects of yo-yo dieting.• He pioneered techniques for photographing moving objects.• Ramsay pioneered the informal portrait in the fashionable world of London.• After college, Kobliner worked for Sylvia Porter, the famed author and columnist who pioneered the personal-finance field.• Willows, which pioneered the succession during the Late-glacial period, do the same on urban areas.• Merrell pioneered the use of Velcro instead of laces on boots.From Longman Business Dictionarypioneerpi‧o‧neer /ˌpaɪəˈnɪə-ˈnɪr/ noun [countable] the first person or organization to do something that other people and organizations later develop or continue to dopioneers willing to try a new software product and lead others to itpioneer ofVictor Co. of Japan, pioneer of the videocassette recorderpioneer inKentucky Fried Chicken, one of the pioneers in the fast-food business —pioneer verb [transitive]The company pioneered video games in the early 1970s. —pioneering adjectivea pioneering disk-drive makerOrigin pioneer1 (1500-1600) Old French peonier “soldier”, from peon, from Medieval Latin pedo; → PAWN1 