forerunner

Tim Burton’s stylish 1989 movie, “Batman,” wasn’t only a forerunner of the superhero films to come in the following decades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Among the proclamations of the first French republic was an end to slavery in its island possessions—a forerunner of wider abolition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

The WTO's forerunner was responsible for negotiating the global agreements that reduced tariffs on trade in goods that helped bring about post-WWII prosperity.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

"She was the forerunner of Take Two - without her, we could never have made it as we did," Richardson told The Hollywood Reporter.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

But perhaps my aunt, my forerunner, caught in a slow life, let dreams grow and fade and after some months or years went toward what persisted.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Some private credit is packaged into collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, but they are far smaller and less complex than their subprime forerunners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

The flames would then be spread across the country for about 1,200 forerunners to relay.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2024

“As soon as this passed, then you have the start of what are the forerunners of modern airlines,” said Randall, like “American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2024

In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling