pioneers

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of pioneer.

   Early aviation pioneers tested their fragile machines over open fields.

   Several pioneers of modern genetics shared the prize that year.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs here. The plural noun looks exactly like the present-tense verb, so a preceding word such as the, several or early shows which one is meant. The plural covers every kind of pioneer: settlers opening the wilderness, soldiers building roads and bridges ahead of an army, and members of temperance or Communist youth organizations. Capitalized in Singapore, Pioneers are citizens born on or before 31 December 1949.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of pioneer.

   The surgeon pioneers techniques that reduce recovery time after major operations.

   Their lab pioneers methods for storing renewable energy at scale.

   Note

   A transitive form that needs an object: someone pioneers a method, a technique or a market. Without that object, the sentence feels unfinished. The -s ending agrees only with a singular subject such as he, she, it or a single noun. With they, I, you or a plural subject, the base form pioneer returns: the surgeon pioneers, but the surgeons pioneer.

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