front-runner

noun

front-run·ner ˈfrənt-ˌrə-nər

: a contestant who runs best when in the lead

: a leading contestant in or as if in a rivalry or competition

a political front-runner

Examples of front-runner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In December 2015, Putin praised Trump, calling him the front-runner months before the businessman secured the Republican nomination. —

Nathan Hodge, CNN, 5 Sep. 2024 Commissioners have refused to reveal the identities of the front-runners — reflecting the secrecy that has enshrouded much of the the search process. —

Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024 The big picture: Independent or third-party candidates were expected to play an outsized role in this year's presidential race, at least when the front-runners were historically unpopular, Axios' April Rubin reported. —

Karri Peifer, Axios, 3 Sep. 2024 In the span of just a few months, the company considered a front-runner in the race to bring psychedelics into mainstream medicine has become a cautionary tale. —

Bykai Kupferschmidt, science.org, 12 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for front-runner

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