How to Use leading in a Sentence

leading

1 of 2 adjective
  • Their family played a leading part in the settlement of the town.
  • She's one of the leading authorities on the stock market.
  • Home dryers are the second leading cause of house fires in the U.S.
    USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024
  • In a leading role, Miller portrays one of the prisoners.
    Vulture, 13 Jan. 2023
  • The film marks Spacey’s first leading role since being cleared in the London trial.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024
  • In the fight for the future of the free world, Ukrainian youth will continue to play a leading role in more ways than one.
    Time, 16 Dec. 2022
  • Biden and leading Democrats have largely had little to say about it.
    Terry Spencer and Will Weissert, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2023
  • Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the US.
    Korin Miller, SELF, 14 Mar. 2024
  • The two-time World Cup winner has played a leading role on and off the field in helping women flourish.
    Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023
  • Her new film finds her in a leading role, with Nia Long playing her onscreen mom.
    Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 14 , according to the CDC.
    Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024
  • All that was needed for Lee to move up was the right role — in this case, her first leading role, one that almost didn’t come her way.
    Robert Ito, New York Times, 31 May 2023
  • The phrasing of her questions had been unashamedly leading.
    Sarah Watling, Time, 13 July 2023
  • Some 25 countries are involved, with NASA taking the leading role.
    IEEE Spectrum, 23 Dec. 2023
  • Overall, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men.
    Nicole Wetsman, ABC News, 12 Jan. 2023
  • Meta, which is taking a leading role by co-launching the group along with IBM, has been at the center of this criticism.
    Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 5 Dec. 2023
  • The movie, which was greeted with a seven-minute standing ovation, marks Depp’s first leading role in three years.
    Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 7 June 2023
  • While Vanessa’s part in the film was minor, Scarlett was cast in her first leading role as 11-year-old Amanda a.k.a.
    Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2023
  • After earning valuable minutes off the bench as a junior, he was poised to take on a leading role.
    Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2023
  • For leading roles or co-leading roles, that number dipped to 3.5 percent.
    Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 June 2023
  • This marks Quan’s first major leading role in his 40 years in Hollywood.
    Jack Dunn, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
  • Poole has since established himself as one of the team’s leading scorers.
    Scott Cacciola, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2023
  • But Transatlantic marks his first leading role in a major series.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2023
  • This is a new era for mobile experiences and Samsung Galaxy has a leading role to play in it.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
  • Colon and breast cancer now exceed lung cancer as leading causes of cancer death for those under the age of 50.
    Dr. Aishwarya Thakur, ABC News, 17 Jan. 2024
  • In Tualatin’s slim losses, the opponent’s leading scorers have had a field day.
    Shane Hoffmann, oregonlive, 10 Jan. 2023
  • Plus, this is Ellis Taylor’s first leading role and this moment is long overdue.
    Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 19 Dec. 2023
  • Among them is Cleta Mitchell, who played a leading role in the Trump campaign’s efforts to reverse the election results in Georgia.
    Danny Hakim, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023
  • This isn't the first time Petersen attempted to move back to her home state for a leading role at one of the state's institutions of higher learning.
    Ryan Anderson, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2023
  • Druyan was the director of the project and played a leading role in curating the music, which is meant to reflect the human experience.
    Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 20 July 2023
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leading

2 of 2 noun
  • The song is from Scott’s new album Utopia, which premieres at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking his third leading set.
    Gary Trust, Billboard, 7 Aug. 2023
  • That all changed a few years back when Ryan Gosling and a few more stylish leading started rocking sweater vests, steering them back in fashion.
    Men's Health, 10 Feb. 2023
  • Bigsby was a reliable three-year starter and leading rusher.
    al, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Among his buddies was the leading of all Hanke’s favorite theory’s icons, Friedrich Hayek.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2022
  • Eleven years later with Mingione leading, UK hosted again and advanced to a super regional for the first time.
    Ryan Black, The Courier-Journal, 6 June 2023
  • Jones is the first move Dallas has made in the backfield since the team decided to cut Elliott — the franchise’s third all-time leading rusher — after seven seasons, .
    Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2023
  • His arm isn’t the strongest, but that won’t necessarily hold the offense back, as evidenced by his leading of a 21-point second-quarter surge.
    Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press, 12 Dec. 2020
  • Heating is the second leading cause while electrical systems/lighting equipment is the third leading.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 5 Dec. 2023
  • Asian indexes were mostly lower, with the Hang Seng leading losses, amid concerns about China’s property sector.
    WSJ, 18 July 2023
  • Hagan played with Colorado all-time leading rusher Eric Bieniemy.
    Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2023
  • In juxtaposition to contemporary notions of being the master of one’s own fate, Scott teaches that trusting God, studying scripture, and relying on the leading of the Holy spirit are the real keys to lasting success.
    Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 26 July 2022
  • Behind the luxury hotels and yachts was a largely invisible work force toiling long hours under a blazing sun, providing spearfishing and diving lessons, staffing yacht parties or leading tours.
    Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023
  • In 2019, Xi even changed the CCP’s evaluating criteria for leading cadres so that the very first is commitment to his eponymous political thought—gnawing away at the professionalism of governance.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Oct. 2022
  • The fallout from crisis has reverberated abroad with the Senegalese diaspora leading demonstrations at the country’s consulates overseas.
    Nimi Princewill, CNN, 7 June 2023
  • British content and production is world leading but changes to viewing habits have put traditional broadcasters under unprecedented pressure.
    K.j. Yossman, Variety, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Sheila Nazarian reports that socially she’s heard talk of Ozempic leading to super skinny arms and visible clavicles and shoulder bones, but that this is likely the case with any dramatic weight reduction.
    Jamie Rosen, Town & Country, 2 Mar. 2023
  • For example, in May 2022, Lucy Calkins, an education professor and leading advocate of balanced literacy, announced a major retreat.
    Marion Blank, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2023
  • While charges against a former president and leading contender for a major party's presidential nomination are unprecedented, there is nothing in the Constitution that prevents someone who has been charged or convicted from seeking or taking office.
    Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 9 June 2023
  • The song is from Scott’s new album Utopia, which premieres at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking his third leading set.
    Gary Trust, Billboard, 7 Aug. 2023
  • That all changed a few years back when Ryan Gosling and a few more stylish leading started rocking sweater vests, steering them back in fashion.
    Men's Health, 10 Feb. 2023
  • Bigsby was a reliable three-year starter and leading rusher.
    al, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Among his buddies was the leading of all Hanke’s favorite theory’s icons, Friedrich Hayek.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2022
  • Eleven years later with Mingione leading, UK hosted again and advanced to a super regional for the first time.
    Ryan Black, The Courier-Journal, 6 June 2023
  • Jones is the first move Dallas has made in the backfield since the team decided to cut Elliott — the franchise’s third all-time leading rusher — after seven seasons, .
    Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2023
  • His arm isn’t the strongest, but that won’t necessarily hold the offense back, as evidenced by his leading of a 21-point second-quarter surge.
    Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press, 12 Dec. 2020
  • Heating is the second leading cause while electrical systems/lighting equipment is the third leading.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 5 Dec. 2023
  • Asian indexes were mostly lower, with the Hang Seng leading losses, amid concerns about China’s property sector.
    WSJ, 18 July 2023
  • Hagan played with Colorado all-time leading rusher Eric Bieniemy.
    Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2023
  • In juxtaposition to contemporary notions of being the master of one’s own fate, Scott teaches that trusting God, studying scripture, and relying on the leading of the Holy spirit are the real keys to lasting success.
    Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 26 July 2022
  • Behind the luxury hotels and yachts was a largely invisible work force toiling long hours under a blazing sun, providing spearfishing and diving lessons, staffing yacht parties or leading tours.
    Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023

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

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