Definition of "forerunner" in Englisch

noun

1. A runner at the front or ahead.

2. (sports) By extension, a non-competitor who leads out the competitors on to the circuit, or who runs/rides the course prior to competitor trials, usually testing or checking the way.

3. A precursor or harbinger, a warning ahead.

4. A forebear, an ancestor, a predecessor.

   • Bakelite is a forerunner of today's plastics.

5. (philately) A postage stamp used in the time before a region or area issues stamps of its own.