led up; leading up; leads up
Examples of lead-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
William Earl, Variety, 19 Feb. 2026
The lead-up to Kennedy’s circus of sci-fi fantasists and food bloggers provides an object lesson in how the left cedes fertile political territory to the right.
—Annie Levin, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026
The arctic temperatures that followed last month’s nor’easter have led to limited melting leading up to this week’s blizzard.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lead-up
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Noun
News programs are not bound by the rule that demands that networks give equal airtime to viable political candidates during the lead-up to an election.
—William Earl, Variety, 19 Feb. 2026
The lead-up to Kennedy’s circus of sci-fi fantasists and food bloggers provides an object lesson in how the left cedes fertile political territory to the right.
—Annie Levin, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
In the days leading up to the Olympics men's hockey final, FBI spokesman Ben Williamson clashed with several news outlets that had reported Patel had used the government jet to fly to Italy with plans to attend hockey games at the Olympics.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026
The arctic temperatures that followed last month’s nor’easter have led to limited melting leading up to this week’s blizzard.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 24 Feb. 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 25 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lead up
verb
: to make a gradual approach to a topic
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