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Main definitions of pathfinder in English

: pathfinder1Pathfinder2

pathfinder1

Pronunciation /ˈpaTHˌfīndər/ /ˈpæθˌfaɪndər/

See synonyms for pathfinder

Translate pathfinder into Spanish

noun

  • 1A person who goes ahead and discovers or shows others a path or way.

    ‘Is she seen as a bit of a - well, as you said, a trailblazer, a pathfinder for women, not just in athletics, in that time?’
    • ‘They're the groundbreakers and the pathfinders.’
    • ‘They can be described as visionaries, revolutionaries, radicals, liberals, nonconformists, outsiders, insurgents, prophets, pathfinders.’
    • ‘Experts and specialists on South Asia were to work as pathfinders.’
    • ‘The 13 councils, drawn from 88 who applied, will be pathfinders for two years.’
    • ‘It's often artists who are the pathfinders, opening up studios and galleries in run-down districts.’
    • ‘The pathfinder was always looking for a better, safer route.’
    • ‘We slipped and slid our way down to the trusty pathfinder.’
    • ‘As the struggle began, these pilots were the pathfinders who flew into the unknown, seeking information on how the USSR might be preparing an attack on the West.’
    • ‘The most advanced pathfinders in the ways of prayer have told of a land beyond that of communion, a land in which God and the God-seeker merge into a single, shared subjectivity.’
    • ‘There is no place for the self-absorbed and self-concerned in the ranks of the pathfinders.’
    • ‘As early as 1821 the enigmatic wanderer Cleng Peerson, ‘the pathfinder of Norwegian emigration,’ traveled to America as an agent for the pioneer emigrants.’
    • ‘He defines a pathfinder as someone who has been there and knows how to operate in an environment where 20,000 bills are introduced and maybe 2,000 become law.’
    • ‘They will be given access to new roads to God by the pathfinders who followed their own lights and their own experience.’
    • ‘Which way should we go, then, o exalted pathfinder?’
    • ‘The pathfinder teams provided tactical ground intelligence to law enforcement aviation assets, during aerial drug sweeps.’
    • ‘Did the deputy track him using ancient Indian pathfinder techniques?’
    • ‘She and her husband John had been planning to act as pathfinders for the team.’
    pioneer, front runner, innovator, trailblazer, pathfinder, groundbreaker, trendsetter, leading light, guiding light, torchbearer, flagbearer, pacemaker, originator, initiator, developer, discoverer, founder, architect
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1An aircraft or its pilot sent ahead to locate and mark the target area for bombing.
      ‘But no one in FEMA had enough sense to ask about air drops, pathfinders, Special Tactics Teams or anything which could have sent immediate aid.’
      • ‘It made its mark in the attack on Poland in September 1939 and its versatility was such that it was used as a bomber, reconnaissance plane and as a pathfinder by the Luftwaffe.’
      • ‘It developed more specialised roles such as a torpedo-carrier, a glider tug and a pathfinder.’
      • ‘Heavy anti-aircraft fire forced the planes to take evasive action, and even trained pathfinders had trouble finding and marking the drop zones.’
      • ‘The pathfinder's primary task is to secure and mark a Drop Zone for the main assault force.’
      • ‘It was used as a pathfinder plane during bombing raids on Germany.’
      • ‘But crucially, it was a pathfinder and protector for the big Lancaster bombers - its pilots were the armed racing drivers of the sky.’
      • ‘It had the same role as the original pathfinders of WWII.’
      • ‘If airborne forces are used, pathfinders will go in ahead of them and among these could be British SAS troopers or soldiers from the Parachute Regiment who are specially trained in this role.’
    2. 1.2usually as modifier An experimental plan or forecast.
      ‘a pathfinder prospectus’
      • ‘The row highlighted the haphazard application of the rules covering pathfinder prospectuses.’
      • ‘The federal interdepartmental committee reviewing pathfinder projects specifically indicated its preference for citizen-facing projects.’
      • ‘The plans have been drawn up by eight regional pathfinder partnerships across England.’
      • ‘It is part of the £500m pathfinder scheme introduced with the aim of improving nine rundown areas in the north and the Midlands.’
      • ‘For instance, when a company does decide to float, it needs to find a broker and then publish a pathfinder prospectus.’
      • ‘The firm will issue a pathfinder prospectus later this month.’
      • ‘It is also part of the Department for Education and Skills' pathfinder programme - which tests new educational initiatives to see if they work.’
      • ‘City of York Council has been chosen to set up a Children's Trust pathfinder project, which also aims to boost learning.’
      • ‘The way that you retire the risks is to have some pathfinder projects.’
      • ‘Though she said the scheme would now cost ‘slightly less’ it seemed there were still not enough funds available in the pathfinder budget for Leeds.’
      • ‘Proposals that focus only on demolition do not fit with the pathfinder approach and will not be funded by ODPM.’
      • ‘Health bosses now hope to allay concerns by doing more detailed work on the pathfinder projects.’
      • ‘We do feel that this could be a pathfinder project that could be done in other areas.’
      • ‘In total, there are nine pathfinder areas, of which three - Manchester, Merseyside and Newcastle - will get major funding this year.’
      • ‘The Government hopes that many of the pathfinders will be run by bodies who have not traditionally led regeneration programmes.’
      • ‘It is not foolproof yet but promises to be a pathfinder in the local government sector.’
      • ‘The lessons from recent operations provided a few pathfinders to spark transformational initiatives.’
      • ‘The bid allocation will be the third highest on offer, with only Manchester and Liverpool getting more out of the nine pathfinder areas.’
      • ‘Forces have been asked to nominate a ‘test unit’ - and York's central area has been nominated as a pathfinder from autumn.’
      • ‘The PAD Project is a pathfinder for integrating a crew escape capability into spacecraft design, something that has not been done since the Apollo program.’
      pioneer, trailblazer, groundbreaker, experimenter, trendsetter, front runner, leader, leading light, guiding light, torchbearer, flagbearer, pacemaker, originator, instigator, initiator, innovator, avant-gardist, developer, creator, discoverer, founder, founding father, architect
      View synonyms

Main definitions of Pathfinder in English

: pathfinder1Pathfinder2

Pathfinder2

(also Mars Pathfinder)

Pronunciation /ˈpaTHˌfīndər/ /ˈpæθˌfaɪndər/

See synonyms for Pathfinder

Translate Pathfinder into Spanish

proper noun

  • An unmanned American spacecraft which landed on Mars in 1997, deploying a small robotic rover (Sojourner) to explore the surface and examine the rocks.