innovators

IPA/ˈɪnəvˌeɪtəz/
KK[ˈɪnəvˌetɚz]IPA/ˈɪnəvˌeɪtərz/

innovators — noun

1. people who bring in fresh ideas or methods instead of following the usual way.

1.nounC1
Definition

people who bring in fresh ideas or methods instead of following the usual way.

Example

Young innovators at the fair showed a lunch box that warms itself.

young innovators + showed a new product

Kenji and Lucía are innovators who found a cleaner way to dye cloth.

be innovators who found a better method

Common collocations
  • young innovators
  • local innovators
  • social innovators
  • tech innovators
Synonyms
  • inventors

    narrower; people who create a new device or object, not just a new method

  • trailblazers

    stresses opening a path for others and often sounds more inspirational

  • pioneers

    neutral label for early leaders in a field; not every pioneer changes methods

  • entrepreneurs

    focuses on starting a business; innovators may work inside schools, labs, or public services

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be an innovator

young innovators

innovators in [field]

Usage Note

Usually describes people who improve an area by introducing fresh methods or ideas. Distinguish it from inventor when the focus is not one new device, and from entrepreneur when no business is being started.

Common Mistakes

Bell was an innovator because he first created the telephone.
Bell was an inventor.' / 'Bell was also an innovator when he changed how people communicated.
inventor stresses making a new device first; innovator stresses bringing in a new idea or method.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Innovators' is a broad word for people who bring in new ideas or methods that change how work is done. 'Inventors' is narrower: it points to creating a new object, machine, or process for the first time. 'Trailblazers' sounds more vivid and admiring, and it often highlights opening a path for other people to follow. 'Pioneers' is a neutral label for early leaders in a field, even if they do not change the method itself. 'Entrepreneurs' focuses on people who build a business around an idea. A science teacher can be an innovator without being an entrepreneur, while the founder of a new app company might be both.

innovators ↗inventors ↗trailblazers ↗pioneers ↗entrepreneurs ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • young innovators
  • local innovators
  • social innovators
  • tech innovators

Etymology

LatinEnglish

'Innovators' is the plural of 'innovator'. The word grew from 'innovate', which comes from Latin 'innovare', meaning 'to make new' or 'renew'. English uses the ending '-or' for a person who performs an action, so an innovator is a person who brings something new into use.