led up; leading up; leads up
Examples of lead-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2026
Other than disclosing their romantic ties, police said other details, including the precise lead-up to the shooting, were still under investigation.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
The closing arguments come after a two-week trial that has focused on what Colin Gray knew about his son leading up to the mass shooting at Apalachee High.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lead-up
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.
Noun
As Payton officially ripped off the Band-Aid and minted Webb as Denver’s play-caller, the defining narrative of the Broncos’ lead-up to 2026 becomes how much influence Webb actually has on Payton’s overall offensive design.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2026
Other than disclosing their romantic ties, police said other details, including the precise lead-up to the shooting, were still under investigation.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
Verb
Paramount had already undergone waves of layoffs leading up to and after its acquisition by Skydance.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
The closing arguments come after a two-week trial that has focused on what Colin Gray knew about his son leading up to the mass shooting at Apalachee High.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lead-up
Cite this Entry
“Lead-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead-up. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lead up
verb
: to make a gradual approach to a topic
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
