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

In the past decade, the leadership of the Kinahan organization has become rich and cosmopolitan, and their life styles have started to resemble those of international businessmen more than of street hoodlums. —Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026

City leadership reversed course, unanimously approving the rezoning last month, which brought the litigation to an end. —Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 29 Apr. 2026

Toward that effort, prisoner leadership sought to implement a push-button technology to avoid needing IDOC workers to pull the triggers. —Kevin Fixler april 29, Idaho Statesman, 29 Apr. 2026

Thankfully, the state courts’ leadership is working hard to expedite cases on their end. —Jonathan Lippman, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 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