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
Synonyms
Adjective
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
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 30 Mar. 2024
The film explores aging, family and autonomy based on a real-life experience of Margolin’s grandmother and marks Squibb’s first leading film role.
—Selena Kuznikov, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Spencer Dinwiddie, who started in place of D’Angelo Russell (non-COVID illness), played a leading role in helping the Lakers record a season high for points.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
The United Kingdom, for example, pledged to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to purchase chips for researchers and developers to pursue breakthroughs and remain at the cutting edge of the industry as nations jockey for a leading role in AI.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2024
The 47-year-old leading man wore a custom Atelier Versace tuxedo with a glitzy gold Sauvereign brooch and an Omega De Ville Prestige wristwatch to the 96th annual Academy Awards on Sunday.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024
Related article As guns rise to leading cause of death among US children, research funding to help prevent and protect victims lags
A rising death rate among children, despite the overall decline, is a particularly worrying trend, experts say.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
Collectively, these neurological problems are now thought to be the single largest leading cause of disability and illness worldwide.
—Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
Home dryers are the second leading cause of house fires in the U.S.
—USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024
Fortune Editors, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
The actual leading of the team and the power in the system lay with someone else who demonstrated those leadership qualities.
—Vinesh Sukumaran, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Slats are moveable panels on the front or leading edge of the wing and are used during takeoffs and landings.
—Beatrice Dupuy, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
Her presence could not be missed, after all, she is nominated for best actress in a leading for Barbie.
—Lorena Meouchi, Glamour, 18 Feb. 2024
For Brown, the team’s Most Valuable Player and leading scorer, the game was extra special.
—Mike Frainie, Baltimore Sun, 28 Jan. 2024
Before The Rookie, Chavez had a recurring role on The Fosters and leading roles on Chicago P.D. and D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow, plus a number of other TV credits.
—Jacqueline Weiss, Peoplemag, 26 Nov. 2023
Hagan played with Colorado all-time leading rusher Eric Bieniemy.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2023
Heating is the second leading cause while electrical systems/lighting equipment is the third leading.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 5 Dec. 2023
Adjective
Monk, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has emerged as a leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate in his second season with the Kings.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 30 Mar. 2024
The film explores aging, family and autonomy based on a real-life experience of Margolin’s grandmother and marks Squibb’s first leading film role.
—Selena Kuznikov, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Spencer Dinwiddie, who started in place of D’Angelo Russell (non-COVID illness), played a leading role in helping the Lakers record a season high for points.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
The United Kingdom, for example, pledged to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to purchase chips for researchers and developers to pursue breakthroughs and remain at the cutting edge of the industry as nations jockey for a leading role in AI.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2024
The 47-year-old leading man wore a custom Atelier Versace tuxedo with a glitzy gold Sauvereign brooch and an Omega De Ville Prestige wristwatch to the 96th annual Academy Awards on Sunday.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024
Related article As guns rise to leading cause of death among US children, research funding to help prevent and protect victims lags
A rising death rate among children, despite the overall decline, is a particularly worrying trend, experts say.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
Collectively, these neurological problems are now thought to be the single largest leading cause of disability and illness worldwide.
—Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
Home dryers are the second leading cause of house fires in the U.S.
—USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024
Noun
The hard part of executing and leading is actually changing and growing as the leader that the organization needs, and that’s the CEO role.
—Fortune Editors, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
The actual leading of the team and the power in the system lay with someone else who demonstrated those leadership qualities.
—Vinesh Sukumaran, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Slats are moveable panels on the front or leading edge of the wing and are used during takeoffs and landings.
—Beatrice Dupuy, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
Her presence could not be missed, after all, she is nominated for best actress in a leading for Barbie.
—Lorena Meouchi, Glamour, 18 Feb. 2024
For Brown, the team’s Most Valuable Player and leading scorer, the game was extra special.
—Mike Frainie, Baltimore Sun, 28 Jan. 2024
Before The Rookie, Chavez had a recurring role on The Fosters and leading roles on Chicago P.D. and D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow, plus a number of other TV credits.
—Jacqueline Weiss, Peoplemag, 26 Nov. 2023
Hagan played with Colorado all-time leading rusher Eric Bieniemy.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2023
Heating is the second leading cause while electrical systems/lighting equipment is the third leading.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 5 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leading.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near leading
Cite this Entry
“Leading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
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