1
as in vanguard
the innovators of new concepts, styles, and techniques especially in the arts
an artist who was in the van of abstract expressionism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in forefront
the leading or most important part of a movement
a company that is considered by some to be in the van of the latest technology for renewable energy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of van
Three people are in critical condition after police say a North Carolina man shot at Amazon delivery vans and then crashed into three other vehicles.
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Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2025
Which was daunting for us, because up to that point everything the Butthole Surfers had just fit in a van.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2025
McAtee remembers loading food into the back of customers’ vans and noticing pies made by competitors.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2025
Some of the elements that deliver this are a Lisbon #28 tram in the capital’s airport store, and a vintage Volkswagen California camper van in Faro Airport’s retail area.
—Kevin Rozario, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for van
Recent Examples of Synonyms for van
Noun
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Other major award winners at the ceremony included Glen Powell, who won star of the year, as well as Ana de Armas, who won action star of the year and Lindsay Lohan, who won the event's vanguard award.—
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Gerwig, at age 41, represents film culture’s new feminist vanguard; her renown is an extension of the media celebration that established the international activism of Thunberg, now 22.—
Noun
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Tami Gaines, founder and CEO of Sage Enterprises LLC, has been at the forefront of changing this for about 25 years.—
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The open source debate has been part of model development since the beginning – and recent news shows that companies at the forefront of the AI model charge are often able to put pressure on each other.—
Noun
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In the ever-evolving cyber underground, ransomware extortionists have grown to become perhaps the most sophisticated and formidable threat.—
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Today’s underground will look very different in 10 years, as soil profiles shift, trees grow, animals tunnel, and people dig and build.—
Noun
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It’s been sweet watching the sound expand overseas, the seeds of inspo traveling way further than the pioneers intended.—
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Collins went on to join another funk pioneer: George Clinton, whose alternating bands Parliament and Funkadelic were innovating a looser, more improvisational and funnier style that would help define Black music in the ’70s.—
Cite this Entry
“Van.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/van. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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