leadership

noun

lead·​er·​ship ˈlē-dər-ˌship 

1

: the office or position of a leader

recently assumed the leadership of the company

2

: capacity to lead

a politician who lacks leadership

3

: the act or an instance of leading

… leadership molds individuals into a team …

—Harold Koontz and Cyril O'Donnell

4

: leaders

the party leadership

Examples of leadership in a Sentence

a politician who lacks leadership

What this country needs is the exercise of strong leadership!

Recent Examples on the Web

OpenAI has aggressively poached top current and former Apple leadership and engineering talent, primarily to build a dedicated hardware division. — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 10 July 2026

At its core, leadership is about helping people perform at their highest potential. — Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Topics range from productivity and leadership to health, psychology, and personal finance. — Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 10 July 2026

How schools are responding At Kabul University, the leadership council ordered a complete smartphone ban for professors, staff and students effective June 21. — Fatima Faizi, NPR, 10 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing leadership

• under someone's leadership

Rhymes for leadership

• authorship
• battleship
• censorship
• chairmanship
• chieftainship
• comradeship
• consulship
• craftsmanship
• dealership
• draftsmanship
• fellowship
• fingertip