1
: coming or ranking first : foremost
2
: exercising leadership
3
: providing direction or guidance
a leading question
4
: given most prominent display
the leading story
plural leadings
1
: a covering or framework of lead
repaired the leading in the church's stained-glass windows
2
typography
: the distance between a pair of adjacent lines in composed text
increased the leading after the header
a leading of 6 points
Examples of leading in a Sentence
Adjective
a leading topic of conversation
Their family played a leading part in the settlement of the town.
the leading role in a major Hollywood movie
a leading citizen of the town
She's one of the leading authorities on the stock market.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026
Ghalibaf, 64, one of Iran's leading conservative figures, is a former commander who has held top political posts for more than 20 years.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2026
Tony Baranek, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
Utah, an organization hellbent on losing, benched leading scorer Kyle Filipowski (25 points) for the last 18 minutes of the game.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for leading
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show current usage.
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Adjective
Quantum sensor SBQuantum, based in Sherbrooke, Canada, a finalist in the MagQuest challenge, produces leading-edge quantum sensors and advanced interpretation and compensation algorithms.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026
Ghalibaf, 64, one of Iran's leading conservative figures, is a former commander who has held top political posts for more than 20 years.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2026
Noun
The leading goes beyond hits and putouts.
—Tony Baranek, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
Utah, an organization hellbent on losing, benched leading scorer Kyle Filipowski (25 points) for the last 18 minutes of the game.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for leading
Cite this Entry
“Leading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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