leading man

noun

: an actor who plays the leading male role

Examples of leading man in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In most other companies, he would have never been cast as a leading man. David Lyman, The Enquirer, 7 Aug. 2025 An American Pickle, his last vehicle as a leading man, wound up on HBO Max, though that was one of many films pushed to streaming during early Covid. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025 Given that this was going to be ABC and Warner Bros.’ sophomore season of The Golden Bachelor, Owens—and the franchise spinoff—was never going to puncture the zeitgeist quite like then 71-year-old Gerry Turner did when he was first announced as ABC’s leading man in the summer of 2023. Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2025 Here is The Athletic’s assessment of the situation… What needs to be done? City had the luxury of two leading men for part of this summer. Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for leading man

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of leading man was in 1827

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Cite this Entry

“Leading man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading%20man. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

leading man

noun
: an actor who plays the leading male role in a play or movie

More from Merriam-Webster on leading man

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