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Entry 4 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Pioneer

/pīˌ-ən-ĭr'/ · Pi·o·neer · IPA /ˌpaɪ.əˈnɪɹ/
01 n. A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances.
  1. 1.
    A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances.(Mil.)
  2. 2.
    One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow; as, pioneers of civilization; pioneers of reform.
02 v. t. & i. To go before, and prepare or open a way for; to act as pioneer.
imp. & p. p. Pioneered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pioneering
  1. 1.
    To go before, and prepare or open a way for; to act as pioneer.
  2. 2.
    to take part in the early development of; to break ground in; to invent or originate.