leading light

noun

|Updated on: 24 Jul 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

Newspapers emblazon the faces of and headlines about the leading lights all over the front pages, and deliver blanket coverage in the sports sections at the back.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "England's World Cup run is magical but the fans need to chill out," 7 July 2018
Neko Case Sunday, July 8, at Starlight Theatre Serving as the leading light of the alternative country movement gets an artist only so far.

— bill brownlee, kansascity, "KC concerts July 5-11: Warped Tour, Joan Jett, Paramore, Xscape, STS9, Neko Case," 3 July 2018
Once a leading light of New York City's burgeoning freak-folk scene, Grizzly Bear has struggled to find its niche since that movement dried up a decade ago.

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Best and worst of Summerfest Day 1: Kane Brown, Walker Hayes, Jethro Tull and more," 27 June 2018
In its earliest incarnation, the group was a leading light of the English blues scene.

— NBC News, "Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan dies at 68," 10 June 2018
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

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.