leading man

noun

: an actor who plays the leading male role

Examples of leading man in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web During a recent actors' roundtable for the Hollywood Reporter, the Lawmen: Bass Reeves and Selma star discussed the highs and lows of the audition process with fellow leading men Jon Hamm, Nicholas Galitzine, Matt Bomer, Callum Turner, and Clive Owen. Shania Russell, EW.com, 6 June 2024 In Florence, Cosimo himself was welcomed back from exile to become Florence’s leading man. Vickie B. Sullivan, The Conversation, 5 June 2024 Whether his success as a leading man can lead the way for others remains to be seen, but his trajectory only points up. Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2024 The series updates — by more closely following Highsmith’s tricky, nasty novel — a film that’s widely beloved, and does so with a leading man whose reputation is for suffering sweetly. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 22 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for leading man 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leading man.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of leading man was in 1827

Dictionary Entries Near leading man

Cite this Entry

“Leading man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading%20man. Accessed 18 Jun. 2024.

Kids Definition

leading man

noun
: an actor who plays the leading male role in a play or movie

More from Merriam-Webster on leading man

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