Definition of leading
1 : coming or ranking first : foremost
2 : exercising leadership
3 : providing direction or guidance a leading question
4 : given most prominent display the leading story
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Examples of leading in a Sentence
a leading topic of conversation
Their family played a leading part in the settlement of the town.
the leading role in a major Hollywood movie
a leading citizen of the town
She's one of the leading authorities on the stock market.
Recent Examples of leading from the Web
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Five people have had a leading role in that regard, and Trump has now attacked all of them.
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These personal characteristics contributed to Coach Freeze's decision to play the leading role in the self-serving smear campaign that foreseeably damaged Coach Nutt's reputation.
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Hurricane Eugene has generated wave energy that will hit San Diego County beaches sooner and harder than anticipated, with the leading edge of the surf arriving by Monday night.
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Buffalo lost its leading tackler, Zack Brown, to the Washington Redskins in free agency, and signed Gerald Hodges away from the San Francisco 49ers to play strongside linebacker.
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Sporting Kansas City will play without its leading scorer for the foreseeable future, though perhaps not as long as initially feared.
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Djiby, the team's leading scorer (10 goals in all competitions, seven in USL play) missed Wednesday's win over the Chicago Fire through an ankle injury.
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Emilia pointed out that women often have fewer lines than their male co-stars, even when they are cast in a leading role.
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The leading Republican candidate has repeatedly insulted women.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leading.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of leading
1597
LEADING Defined for English Language Learners
leading
playDefinition of leading for English Language Learners
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: having great importance, influence, or success
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: most important
Learn More about leading
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See words that rhyme with leading Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for leading Nglish: Translation of leading for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of leading for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about leading
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