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
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
The Rebels got the ball to guard Gibbs-Lawhorn, the Illinois transfer who is the Mountain West’s leading scorer and leading candidate for player of the year.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Andrea Guzmán, Austin American Statesman, 30 Jan. 2026
Also among the post-Bridgerton success stories are season 2's Simone Ashley, season 3 leading lady Nicola Coughlan and season 1's Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor.
—Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for leading
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Adjective
That rare child actor to evolve into an indomitable leading man, Bale is notoriously dismissive of celebrity.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
The Rebels got the ball to guard Gibbs-Lawhorn, the Illinois transfer who is the Mountain West’s leading scorer and leading candidate for player of the year.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Noun
The models hold significance in Tesla’s rise as a leading—though no longer the largest—EV maker in the world.
—Andrea Guzmán, Austin American Statesman, 30 Jan. 2026
Also among the post-Bridgerton success stories are season 2's Simone Ashley, season 3 leading lady Nicola Coughlan and season 1's Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor.
—Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 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 13 Mar. 2026.
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