Meaning & use
forerunner
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person or thing that comes before and signals that something or someone else is coming.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'of' or 'to'.
Patterns
- a forerunner of something
- a forerunner to something
The dark clouds were a forerunner of the storm that arrived an hour later.
John the Baptist is often described as the forerunner of Jesus.
These small protests were a forerunner to the revolution.
nouncountable
An early form or predecessor of something that developed later.
Grammar: Countable; often used in historical or technical contexts.
Patterns
- a forerunner of something
- the forerunner of something
The mechanical calculator was a forerunner of the modern computer.
This dialect is a forerunner of the standard language spoken today.
The small car was the forerunner of the family vehicles we see now.
Word forms
| plural | forerunners |
|---|
Common combinations
- a forerunner of
- The telegraph was a forerunner of the telephone.
- a forerunner to
- These events were a forerunner to the war.
- the forerunner of
- She is considered the forerunner of the women's movement.
- early forerunner
- The early forerunner of the bicycle had no pedals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- predecessor
- Predecessor is more neutral and often refers to a person who held a job before someone else, while forerunner emphasizes signaling or paving the way.
- harbinger
- Harbinger is more literary and often suggests a sign of something important or bad, whereas forerunner is broader and more neutral.
- ancestor
- Ancestor refers to a person or thing from which others descend, often in a family or biological sense; forerunner focuses on coming before in time or development.
Opposites
Word family
- forerun verb
- To run before or precede; rare and mostly literary.
Commonly confused: forerunner or precursor?
forerunner vs precursor
Precursor is very similar but often used in technical or scientific contexts for a substance or event that leads to another.
Practice
The invention of the steam engine was a ______ of the modern train.
Choose one answer.
Forerunner means something that comes before and signals what follows, which fits the steam engine leading to modern trains. Successor, descendant, and follower all mean something that comes after, so they are the opposite of what the sentence needs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “forerunner”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.