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
Had a kidnapper try to pull me inside his van at a bus stop in Arizona.
—
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Remnants of a van, which appears to be a mobile branch of the postal service, can also be seen in the video from Yarova, with a children’s playground with two yellow slides visible in the background.
—Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Valdez repeatedly assaulted the girl in the van over a period of three years, police said.
—City News Service, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
The following fall, Devlin took an opportunity to design Belmont Skatepark and create a summer camp that integrated the beachfront skatepark with the rides and other attractions at Belmont Park in Mission Beach, all while living out of his van.
—Point Loma-Ob Monthly, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for van
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Remnants of a van, which appears to be a mobile branch of the postal service, can also be seen in the video from Yarova, with a children’s playground with two yellow slides visible in the background.
—Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Valdez repeatedly assaulted the girl in the van over a period of three years, police said.
—City News Service, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
The following fall, Devlin took an opportunity to design Belmont Skatepark and create a summer camp that integrated the beachfront skatepark with the rides and other attractions at Belmont Park in Mission Beach, all while living out of his van.
—Point Loma-Ob Monthly, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for van
Recent Examples of Synonyms for van
Noun
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Waymo’s self-driving cars are a vanguard of this movement, a vehicle that can perceive its surroundings and make decisions in real time.—
Divyaditya Shrivastava,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Behrman successfully pitched his boss at Columbia Masterworks a new series, called Music of Our Time, showcasing the classical vanguard and its potential intersections with the longhair rock market.—
William Robin,
New Yorker,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Our treatments are designed with our clients’ needs at the forefront.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The Celtics are not projected to be a stellar team this season, but at the forefront will be their superstar guard, Jaylen Brown.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But now European and American scientists are exploring whether the first human Martians could find refuge via dormant volcanos scattered across the Red Planet, inside lava tubes that criss-cross the Mars underground.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Sibiya said the men had been killed by gas underground, their bodies carried out of the mine by colleagues and left for the police to find.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
23 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Alexander Jabbour is an Engineering Lead at Rilla, an industry pioneer in real-time sales conversation feedback.—
Alexander Jabbour,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Visitors can also stop by the Leonard Reid House, built in 1926 by one of Sarasota’s early Black pioneers, Leonard Reid, or visit the Greater Newtown Historical Gallery, a repository of Newtown history that includes family photo collections and artifacts.—
Mariette Williams,
AFAR Media,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Van.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/van. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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