pathbreaking
Americanadjective
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pertaining to blazing a trail or path.
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pioneering; innovative.
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.
Founded in 1955, PIA was a symbol of national pride and rapid growth for years, with a pathbreaking international network and even flight attendant uniforms created by French designer Pierre Cardin in the 1960s.
From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025
Our modern understanding of mobility began with the pathbreaking work of Gary Becker and Nigel Tomes in 1979.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
Sir Jony worked for Apple for more than 30 years, helping to revive the company with pathbreaking products including the iPhone and iPod.
From BBC • May 21, 2025
Baldwin’s writing about race and American society was always entwined with love stories, from his pathbreaking 1956 LGBTQ+ novel “Giovanni’s Room” to his late classic, 1974’s “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2025
Einstein’s earlier pathbreaking work on the photoelectric effect suggested strongly that light was composed of a stream of “light quanta,” or particles.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
