trendsetter

noun

trend·​set·​ter ˈtren(d)-ˌse-tər 

variants or less commonly trend-setter

plural trendsetters also trend-setters

: one that sets a trend : someone or something that starts or helps to popularize a new fashion, style, movement, etc.

a trendsetter in the fashion industry

Every ten years or so, for a different set of reasons each time, cultural trendsetters rally behind one musician with whom they sense a bond and who then comes to symbolize jazz to the mass media.

—Francis Davis

The county has become a trendsetter in other types of environmental legislation …

—Chemical & Engineering News

Synonyms of trendsetter

• leader
• pioneer

Examples of trendsetter in a Sentence

a closely watched trendsetter in women's fashions

Recent Examples on the Web

Salomon Speedcross Trail Running Shoes Salomon sneakers are h-o-t right now, especially among the NYC trendsetters. —Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2026

The actor behind the vampire Remmick and now satanist Sir Jimmy Crystal also talks about becoming a Halloween trendsetter. —Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026

Thanks to several significant planetary shifts, fire signs Aries and Leo, and air signs Gemini and Aquarius will command the spotlight as trendsetters in 2026. —Maressa Brown, InStyle, 9 Jan. 2026

And while that meant a lot of milky-nude polish, some statement nail looks also snuck into the 2025 trendsetters list. —Grace McCarty, Glamour, 29 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for trendsetter

• abettor
• newsletter
• typesetter
• better
• bettor
• debtor
• fetter
• getter
• letter
• netter
• petar
• petter