lean in

verb

leaned in; leaning in; leans in

intransitive verb

: to persevere in spite of risk or difficulty

Then there's the racial justice crisis and making sure that we are leaning in during this time of recovery and crisis into the very important conversations around diversity and inclusion.

—Laura Fuentes, quoted in Washington (D.C.) Business Journal

Attending college began as a time of "leaning in," because it took courage to attend a large campus without much parental support and no friends attending with me.

—Sue Nokes

Examples of lean in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But even as some people recoil from the kinds of characters that have dominated the screen for two decades, Corddry has leaned in. —Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 2 June 2026

Frankie Grande, Joe Locke and Dylan Mulvaney lean in for a pic at Shoshana Bean's portrait unveiling at Sardi's on May 28 in New York City. —People Staff, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026

Instead of retreating from global trade, many small and mid-sized companies are leaning in and even accelerating global expansion. —Greg Hewitt, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

Social worker Nicole Herje leaned in. —ABC News, 28 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lean in

• renin
• carrageenan
• pangasinan
• catenin