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

Mandatory private jet travel has long been common among high-profile CEOs, and companies are also leaning in on first-class air travel for executive teams, the survey of compensation professionals from 291 public and private companies found. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025

Tiebreakers would lean in Smyrna's favor if that occurred. —Cecil Joyce, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, 21 Oct. 2025

Kellie Young, the city’s CRT director, leaned in to help. —Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025

But Chicago Fire‘s apparent season arc — which seems to lean in to the recent real-life friction between Mayor Brandon Johnson and the city’s first responders — has raised some eyebrows. —Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lean in

• renin
• carrageenan
• catenin