Noun

(en noun)

One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow.

A person or other entity who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-10

, author=Audrey Garric , title=Urban canopies let nature bloom , volume=188, issue=22, page=30 , magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) citation , passage=As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field.}}

Some people will consider their national heroes to be pioneers of civilization.

Certain politicians can be considered as pioneers of reform.

(obsolete, military)   A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances; a sapper.

A member of any of several European organizations advocating abstinence from alcohol.

(Communism)   A child of 10–16 years in the former Soviet Union, in the second of the three stages in becoming a member of the Communist Party.

Noun

(en noun)

One who supports something; an advocate

* 2012 November 2, Ken Belson, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/sports/new-york-city-marathon-will-not-be-held-sunday.html?hp&_r=0]," New York Times (retrieved 2 November 2012):

Proponents of the race — notably Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mary Wittenberg, director of the marathon — said the event would provide a needed morale boost, as well as an economic one.