led up; leading up; leads up
Examples of lead-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Staff Author, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025
What the series dramatizes is the lead-up to that fall.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 22 Nov. 2025
Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 13 Nov. 2025
Golden Eve will serve as a marquee kickoff to Golden Week, leading up to the 83rd Golden Globes ceremony on Jan 11.
—Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lead-up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
At least that's the mantra of celebrity chef to the stars, Brooke Baevsky, whose lead-up to the holidays probably looks a little bit different than the average home cook's.
—Staff Author, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025
What the series dramatizes is the lead-up to that fall.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 22 Nov. 2025
Verb
The investigation into the killing is ongoing, and no additional details, including what led up to the shooting, were being released to preserve the integrity of the case, Sisson said.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 13 Nov. 2025
Golden Eve will serve as a marquee kickoff to Golden Week, leading up to the 83rd Golden Globes ceremony on Jan 11.
—Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lead-up
Cite this Entry
“Lead-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead-up. Accessed 28 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lead up
verb
: to make a gradual approach to a topic
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share