leading man

noun

: an actor who plays the leading male role

Examples of leading man in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nolan’s latest leading man, Damon, is no stranger to the filmmaker’s set. — Emma Urdangen, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026

New Netflix exclusive The Debt Collector stars popular leading man Nadech Kugimiya as Num, a former hired thug who gets out of prison with just weeks to live. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026

The Hollywood leading man before his death made his mark in such films as Jurassic Park, The Piano, Dead Calm and In the Mouth of Madness. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2026

Herro and Adebayo came together in the wake of social-media posts from Herro questioning Adebayo’s stature as a Heat leading man, in light of what Herro questioned in those posts as Adebayo’s offensive deficiencies. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for leading man

• businessman
• canavan
• caravan
• constantan
• dragoman
• fisherman
• handyman
• harmattan
• journeyman
• marianne
• middleman
• minivan

Kids Definition

leading man

noun

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