van

1
as in vanguard
the innovators of new concepts, styles, and techniques especially in the arts an artist who was in the van of abstract expressionism

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in forefront
the leading or most important part of a movement a company that is considered by some to be in the van of the latest technology for renewable energy

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of van Local residents also joined in opposition to the bills, including 14-year-old Boise Bench resident Max Wyatt, who was hit by a van while riding his bike home from school in kindergarten. Nick Rosenberger, Idaho Statesman, 1 Apr. 2025 Mercedes Benz is a German luxury automotive brand owned by Mercedes Benz Group AG, formerly called Daimler AG, specializing in high end passenger cars, trucks, vans, SUV’s and known for its iconic 3 pointed star logo. Tony Leopardo, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2025 Armored trucks and civilian vehicles such as vans, compact cars and all-terrain vehicles—that is, golf carts—now account for around 70 percent of Russian losses, according to one recent survey. David Axe, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025 That October, while being transferred in a van to a court appearance, Williams lifted a loose portion of the vehicle’s wall panelling and snapped off a narrow metal clip underneath. Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for van
Recent Examples of Synonyms for van
Noun
  • Writer-director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, out December 25, aims to lead the latest in the fang-banging vanguard.
    Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 25 Dec. 2024
  • Katy Perry 39, received this year's video vanguard award and treated viewers to a medley of her biggest hits — plus, presumably, material from her upcoming 143 album.
    Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 12 Sep. 2024
Noun
  • Tami Gaines, founder and CEO of Sage Enterprises LLC, has been at the forefront of changing this for about 25 years.
    Molly Peck, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2025
  • The open source debate has been part of model development since the beginning – and recent news shows that companies at the forefront of the AI model charge are often able to put pressure on each other.
    John Werner, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The city this month began drilling at Del Prado Park, the first of several sites being explored to find safe, potable water underground.
    Kyle Martin, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
  • In the ever-evolving cyber underground, ransomware extortionists have grown to become perhaps the most sophisticated and formidable threat.
    Etay Maor, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • It’s been sweet watching the sound expand overseas, the seeds of inspo traveling way further than the pioneers intended.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Collins went on to join another funk pioneer: George Clinton, whose alternating bands Parliament and Funkadelic were innovating a looser, more improvisational and funnier style that would help define Black music in the ’70s.
    Steve Knopper, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Van.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/van. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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