forerunner

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Two years later, though, Jospin won a revenge of sorts when the cocky Chirac called an early general election, expecting his right-wing RPR party -- forerunner of Nicolas Sarkozy's Republicans -- to win easily.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

They might not have taken part in F1 before, but they did compete in its forerunner, the European grand prix championship, in the 1930s.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

Brought online with the Cuban missile crisis, the system linked remote computers via telephone lines, a forerunner to the internet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

A few years later, McKean made an appearance on “Mr. Show,” as a condescending law professor, a forerunner of Chuck McGill, while Odenkirk’s character on that episode has a touch of Jimmy McGill’s DNA.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2025

More nuanced and more revealing is Wills’s other remark—that “Everett’s classicism was as much the forerunner of Lincoln’s talk as its foil or contrast.”

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith