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

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

Example Sentences

Skating last after leading the short program, just as he did in Milan, Malinin landed five high-scoring quadruple jumps but not his pioneering quad axel, a jump he didn’t attempt at the Olympics.

From Los Angeles Times

At the time, Joseph Lister’s pioneering antisepsis work in Britain was known to American doctors.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Port Talbot will be the forefront of a pioneering, new, clean energy industry," said a UK government spokesperson.

From BBC

Although Babbage's design was never fully realised, her contributions to the project led to her being credited as pioneering a very early kind of computer programming.

From BBC

Although she had already received a good deal of acclaim, O’Keeffe had begun to feel oppressed by her life in New York with her husband, the pioneering photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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