1
: coming or ranking first : foremost
2
: exercising leadership
3
: providing direction or guidance
a leading question
4
: given most prominent display
the leading story
plural leadings
1
: a covering or framework of lead
repaired the leading in the church's stained-glass windows
2
typography
: the distance between a pair of adjacent lines in composed text
increased the leading after the header
a leading of 6 points
Examples of leading in a Sentence
Adjective
a leading topic of conversation
Their family played a leading part in the settlement of the town.
the leading role in a major Hollywood movie
a leading citizen of the town
She's one of the leading authorities on the stock market.
Recent Examples on the Web
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
Something like this would be harder to dismiss, potentially leading, for example, to London experiencing winters more than 20 degrees Celsius colder than its current average.
—Sophie Yeo, The Dial, 4 Nov. 2025
Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
One of the big failings that happens in a lean transformation is when senior management doesn’t take on that responsibility of leading and teaching.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leading
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Tarantino has been known for his directorial fascination with feet, having depicted Thurman’s tootsies on-screen multiple times, as well as the majority of his leading ladies.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
Something like this would be harder to dismiss, potentially leading, for example, to London experiencing winters more than 20 degrees Celsius colder than its current average.
—Sophie Yeo, The Dial, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
The images of the siblings arriving together at the hospital entrance—William leading, George and Charlotte holding his hands—struck a warm tone at the time.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
One of the big failings that happens in a lean transformation is when senior management doesn’t take on that responsibility of leading and teaching.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leading
Cite this Entry
“Leading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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