leading light

noun

Updated on: 4 Apr 2018

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

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
Lieberman rejects the idea of statehood, as do most of the leading lights within the Likud.

— gregg carlstrom, Newsweek, "The Fall of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Future of Israel," 15 Mar. 2018
Regardless, the mere fact that the party’s leading lights feel compelled to perform this gesture is a testament to the left’s growing strength within Team Blue’s tent.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Gillibrand and Booker Swear Off Corporate Cash," 14 Feb. 2018
The show, which will be broadcast live Sunday night from Madison Square Garden, is designed as a showcase of the leading lights in American pop music, with an emphasis on glitz and broad accessibility.

— jon caramanica, New York Times, "The Grammy Gems You Won’t Hear on ‘Music’s Biggest Night’," 26 Jan. 2018
There’s not enough space in this column to name and detail the accomplishments of all of them, but here are a few of our region’s leading lights who shined especially bright in 2017.

— paul owens, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Recognizing more difference makers in Central Florida," 26 Jan. 2018
But while the category recognized such hard rock leading lights as Metallica and Jane's Addiction, the award ended up going to Crest of a Knave, the 16th album from prog-rock wheeze kids Jethro Tull.

— andrew unterberger, Billboard, "60 Grammys, 60 Moments: The Greatest Moment From Every Grammys Ceremony So Far," 26 Jan. 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.