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groundbreaker

groundbreaker

2 6.9
A person who introduces new ideas or ways in a field
  • noun
  • /ˈɡraʊndˌbreɪkər/
translation icon : pionero
  • The company's CEO is recognized as a groundbreaker for implementing radical changes that improved productivity.

He was a huge pioneer groundbreaker and did it great.

Examples

  • While The Buggles were far from being groundbreakers and even farther from becoming legitimate prophets, there was at least a sense of believable dialogue when that song originally aired.

    Blog text (11)
  • She was a true groundbreaker in the field of renewable energy, introducing innovative technologies to harness solar power.

  • Women Groundbreakers in the First International Courts

    Blog text (18)
  • He was a huge pioneer groundbreaker and did it great.

  • And what the groundbreakers who went before us did was to take roto inversion as the operation to survive.

  • ALL OF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY INSIDE OF YOU TO BE A GROUNDBREAKER.

  • It was so unacceptable as a part of discourse that books and organizations that brought it out in the open as anything but mental illness were groundbreakers.

    Blog text (34)
  • Their consistent record as groundbreakers in the design field alone is enough to garner them a cult following; their technological advances simply cement their followers to whatever amazing product they will release next.

    Blog text (16)
  • Or groundbreakers who furthered country but favored other forms, like Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Wanda Jackson, and Carl Perkins?

    Blog text (1)
  • The unwieldy final product, "We Can't Go Home Again" (1976), bombed at the Cannes Film Festival, but it's the kind of would-be groundbreaker that continues to stir interest long after its failure as a theatrical release.

    Blog text (18)

Synonyms

pioneer
vsgroundbreaker
113 4.2

A person among the first to develop new ideas or ways of doing things

is similar but can also mean someone who introduces innovations, not only firsts
innovator
vsgroundbreaker
38 4.3

A person who creates new ideas or ways of doing things

focuses more on being an early pioneer rather than only introducing ideas
trailblazer
vsgroundbreaker
12 6.8

A person who first develops new ideas or methods in a field

is broader, covering both first movers and those who introduce new ideas
pathbreaker
vsgroundbreaker
1 6.7

A person who does something new that others copy

covers that role but also innovators who start new methods without leading
halutz
vsgroundbreaker
9.9

A person who is among the first to try new ideas or methods

is more general, also used for people who introduce new ideas later
chalutz
vsgroundbreaker
9.9

A person who is among the first to try new ideas

is broader, applying to first movers and later major introducers
voortrekker
vsgroundbreaker
  • South African
9.9

A person who is among the first to begin a new activity or idea

is broader, covering innovators who create new ideas, not only explorers

Antonyms

295 1.6

A person who supports a leader and accepts their direction

How Innovative

revolutionary
143 4.9
trailblazer
12 6.8
groundbreaker
2 6.9
pioneer
113 4.2
innovator
38 4.3

Surface Forms

groundbreaker singular

Morphology

groundbreaker = groundbreak (semi-transparent) = ground + break + er

The components 'ground' and 'break' are clear, but the metaphorical meaning of pioneering is not immediately obvious.

Etymology

Groundbreaker comes from the image of someone who breaks ground: moving the ground ('earth') to start a building, which turned into a phrase meaning to 'start something new'. That's why a groundbreaker is a person who opens new paths or ideas.