: something (such as a television show or segment) that leads into something else
a lead-in to the commercial
lead-in
adjective
Examples of lead-in in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The practice of airing a new episode of a TV series behind the Oscars mirrors the Super Bowl tradition of airing a program after the big game to take advantage of the tremendous lead-in audience.
—
Clayton Davis, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023
Psaki, of course, would go on to add an hour in weekday primetime on Monday nights, serving as the lead-in to Rachel Maddow, who continues to host the 9 p.m. hour that evening.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023
Despite the very incompatible lead-in and less-than-ideal scheduling — the show faced off against new episodes of The Voice and Dancing With the Stars — the Frasier revival still managed to attract a little more than 2 million same-day viewers, with ratings actually going up for the second episode.
—Vulture, 19 Oct. 2023
The company set a goal of 5 million viewers for the initial broadcast and expected a lower number for Episode 2 due to the lack of NFL lead-in, so the 6.6 million and 5 million respective viewers who tuned in represented a ratings win.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023
Worse, the season premiere of lead-in Name that Tune barely got one million viewers and had a demo rating half of its already meh numbers from January.
—Vulture, 21 Sep. 2023
As part of the lead-in to the upcoming season, the NHL Network is ranking the top 50 players in the league, a list compiled by researchers, producers and on-air personalities.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 13 Sep. 2023
In the first act, the hosts use soul food recipes to introduce a series of soul artists; for example, peach cobbler is the lead-in to the duo Peaches and Herb.
—Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023
Pop singer Gracie Abrams was announced as the lucky lead-in for the biggest tour on the planet.
—Joe Mutascio, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Aug. 2023
See More
Clayton Davis, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023
Psaki, of course, would go on to add an hour in weekday primetime on Monday nights, serving as the lead-in to Rachel Maddow, who continues to host the 9 p.m. hour that evening.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023
Despite the very incompatible lead-in and less-than-ideal scheduling — the show faced off against new episodes of The Voice and Dancing With the Stars — the Frasier revival still managed to attract a little more than 2 million same-day viewers, with ratings actually going up for the second episode.
—Vulture, 19 Oct. 2023
The company set a goal of 5 million viewers for the initial broadcast and expected a lower number for Episode 2 due to the lack of NFL lead-in, so the 6.6 million and 5 million respective viewers who tuned in represented a ratings win.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023
Worse, the season premiere of lead-in Name that Tune barely got one million viewers and had a demo rating half of its already meh numbers from January.
—Vulture, 21 Sep. 2023
As part of the lead-in to the upcoming season, the NHL Network is ranking the top 50 players in the league, a list compiled by researchers, producers and on-air personalities.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 13 Sep. 2023
In the first act, the hosts use soul food recipes to introduce a series of soul artists; for example, peach cobbler is the lead-in to the duo Peaches and Herb.
—Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023
Pop singer Gracie Abrams was announced as the lucky lead-in for the biggest tour on the planet.
—Joe Mutascio, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lead-in.' 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
1913, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near lead-in
Cite this Entry
“Lead-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead-in. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
lead-in
nounˈlēd-ˌin
: something (as a television show or segment) that leads into something else
lead-in
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on lead-in
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for lead-in
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share