forerunner

noun

fore·​run·​ner ˈfȯr-ˌrə-nər 

1

: one that precedes and indicates the approach of another: such as

a

: a premonitory sign or symptom

b

: a skier who runs the course before the start of a race

2

: predecessor, ancestor

Synonyms

• angel
• foregoer
• harbinger
• herald
• outrider
• precursor

Choose the Right Synonym for forerunner

forerunner, precursor, harbinger, herald mean one that goes before or announces the coming of another.

forerunner is applicable to anything that serves as a sign or presage.

the blockade was the forerunner of war

precursor applies to a person or thing paving the way for the success or accomplishment of another.

18th century poets like Burns were precursors of the Romantics

harbinger and herald both apply, chiefly figuratively, to one that proclaims or announces the coming or arrival of a notable event.

their early victory was the harbinger of a winning season

the herald of a new age in medicine

Examples of forerunner in a Sentence

a simple machine that was the forerunner of today's computers

I had that strange feeling that's the forerunner of a cold.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lilly developed its forerunner more than 30 years prior, according to reporting from FiercePharma. Market pricing for prescription drugs creates the incentives that perpetuate this cycle of innovation. —Sally Pipes, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024

Dunham became, in time, a kind of spiritual mother to him—a forerunner in his fight to establish a school where Black dance idioms could be studied. —Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024

Psittacosaurus Paleontologists expected to find feathers and their forerunners around the skeletons of bird-like dinosaurs. —Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2024

Its divergent economies, societies, and governments are integrated in ways that would have been unthinkable when the Treaty of Rome, which brought about the creation of the European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union, was signed in 1957. —Francis J. Gavin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Jan. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

forerunner

noun

fore·​run·​ner -ˌrən-ər 

1

: one going or sent before to give notice of the approach of others : harbinger

2

: predecessor, ancestor