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
CBS News, 8 May 2025
Florida is taking a leading role in signing up to assist with immigration enforcement under the 287(g) program, which enables law enforcement agencies to question and arrest people suspected of violating immigration law.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
Share your expertise and pitch yourself for expert commentary opportunities so you can be featured by journalists and leading publications in your field.
—Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leading
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
More lower-income countries are taking a leading role.
—CBS News, 8 May 2025
Florida is taking a leading role in signing up to assist with immigration enforcement under the 287(g) program, which enables law enforcement agencies to question and arrest people suspected of violating immigration law.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
Noun
In Asia, markets rose, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up almost 2% and leading gains.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
Share your expertise and pitch yourself for expert commentary opportunities so you can be featured by journalists and leading publications in your field.
—Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leading
Cite this Entry
“Leading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share