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
Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
This includes much of the day-to-day work done by federal information technology and cybersecurity employees, including those at the nation’s leading civilian cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
—Richard Forno, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
Also, while the 16 Plus' battery life isn’t class-leading, its 167-nit brightness at our 50% testing setting is impressive, particularly compared with the Asus and Samsung.
—Charles Jefferies, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leading
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Intel, the once-dominant chipmaker, is in a fight for its life that requires it to aggressively move into leading-edge chips, including those optimized for AI, while drumming up the funding to float that expensive transition.
—Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
This includes much of the day-to-day work done by federal information technology and cybersecurity employees, including those at the nation’s leading civilian cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
—Richard Forno, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
Giant, with Lithgow leading and Nicholas Hytner directing, will begin performances at a Shubert theater to be announced from March 11, 2026, for a 16-week limited run with the Lees producing alongside Stephanie Kramer and Nicole Kramer, Josh Fielder, Robyn Goodman and the Royal Court Theatre.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
Also, while the 16 Plus' battery life isn’t class-leading, its 167-nit brightness at our 50% testing setting is impressive, particularly compared with the Asus and Samsung.
—Charles Jefferies, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 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 15 Oct. 2025.
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