Meaning & use
trailblazer
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableapprovingfigurative
A person who is among the first to do something new, and so opens the way for others.
Grammar: Usually praises a person: she was a trailblazer in science.
Patterns
- a trailblazer in something
- a trailblazer for someone
She was a trailblazer for women in medicine.
The company is a trailblazer in clean energy.
He became a trailblazer in the world of jazz.
nouncountable
A person who marks a path through unexplored land so that others can follow it.
Grammar: The original, literal sense.
Patterns
- follow a trailblazer
The trailblazer cut marks into the trees along the route.
Early trailblazers opened a path through the mountains.
A trailblazer led the hikers across the ridge.
Word forms
| plural | trailblazers |
|---|
Common combinations
- trailblazer in science
- She was a trailblazer in science.
- true trailblazer
- He was a true trailblazer for civil rights.
- fearless trailblazer
- A fearless trailblazer, she opened the first school.
- trailblazer for women
- The judge was a trailblazer for women in law.
- industry trailblazer
- The firm is an industry trailblazer in design.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pioneer
- Pioneer is the closest word and can also mean early settler, while trailblazer stresses making a path for others.
- innovator
- An innovator brings new methods or ideas, but does not always open the way for a group as a trailblazer does.
- groundbreaker
- Groundbreaker is less common and is often used for ideas or events rather than people.
- trendsetter
- A trendsetter starts a fashion or style, whereas a trailblazer opens a whole field.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: trailblazer or blazer? trailblazer or trial blazer?
trailblazer vs blazer
A blazer is a jacket, whereas trailblazer comes from blazing a trail by marking trees.
trailblazer vs trial blazer
This is a misspelling; the word is trailblazer, from trail.
Practice
The first woman to lead the observatory was a ___ whose work opened doors for others.
Choose one answer.
A trailblazer is a person who first does something and opens the way. A follower does the opposite, and the others are different words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trailblazer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.