Standard Lemma guide

pacesetter

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: P EY1 S EH2 T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

One who or that which determines the rate of action through leading.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a horse used to set the pace in racing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pacer, pacemaker

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: racehorse, race horse, bangtail

3

noun

Meaning 3

a leading instance in its field

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the new policy will be a pacesetter in community relations

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pacemaker

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: exemplar, example, model, good example

History

Etymology

From pace + setter.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 配速員 /配速员 (pèisùyuán) — one who sets pace
  • Finnish: kirittäjä — one who sets pace
  • German: Schrittmacher — one who sets pace
  • Italian: battistrada — one who sets pace
  • Polish: zając — one who sets pace
  • Turkish: tavşan atlet — one who sets pace