leading light

noun

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: leading light in a Sentence

Definition of leading light

: a prominent and influential member (as of a community or church)

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Examples of leading light in a Sentence

He is one of the leading lights of the labor movement.

Recent Examples of leading light from the Web

To this point, the Democrats’ leading lights have shown little deference to Schultz’s faction.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Democrats Must Reject Howard Schultz and His Radical Centrist Ideology," 6 June 2018
The politician, a leading voice for reform in Malaysia and once a leading light in the party that ruled Malaysia until last week's election, was jailed in 2015.

— euan mckirdy, CNN, "Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim released after royal pardon," 15 May 2018
Nineteen years later, DiPiano is a leading light in a region where venture and follow-on investment remains a fraction of Silicon Valley’s scale, or Boston’s.

— joseph n. distefano, Philly.com, "PACT honors NewSpring's Mike DiPiano as a Philly 'legend' in building companies," 4 May 2018
Soares has been a leading light for Southampton over the past three seasons but (as a seasoned international) would not be tempted to stick around on the south coast and play in England's second tier.

— SI.com, "Report: Man United Eyes Southampton Defender Cedric Soares As to Antonio Valencia," 26 Apr. 2018
Donald McKayle, the pioneering dancer and choreographer whose seven decades in modern dance distinguished him as one of the art form’s leading lights and socially conscious practitioners, has died.

— jessica gelt, latimes.com, "Modern dance pioneer Donald McKayle dies at 87," 12 Apr. 2018
There is no tension between these two facts; because the leading lights of American conservatism — from Donald Trump to Bret Stephens — all accept that Muslims have earned some degree of collective stigmatization.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "John Bolton and The Anti-Muslim Bigotry of Mainstream Conservatism," 27 Mar. 2018
Robert Haas, one of the leading lights of the American wine industry, died Sunday from complications of pneumonia at his home in Templeton, Calif.

— patrick comiskey, latimes.com, "Robert Haas, influential American vintner and wine importer, dies at 90," 20 Mar. 2018
After several years of regaling the leading lights of Restoration London with his tales of singeing the Don’s beard, Morgan realized that respectable society was beginning to lose interest in him.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "The Island that Disappeared," 20 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leading light.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.