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
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 7 May 2026
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans ages 10 to 24.
—Peter S. Hendricks, STAT, 6 May 2026
Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
Rear seat space, for example, is comfortable for most adults; but, again, not class-leading.
—New Atlas, 2 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for leading
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Adjective
No, the Heat shouldn’t be looking to deal Adebayo before trying another year to find a genuine, All-NBA leading man.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 7 May 2026
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans ages 10 to 24.
—Peter S. Hendricks, STAT, 6 May 2026
Noun
Lourd snapped a photo during one of her mother Fisher's first scenes in the movie as Princess Leia, the iconic leading lady the late actress portrayed in the original three Star Wars movies and in the 2010s sequel trilogy.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
Rear seat space, for example, is comfortable for most adults; but, again, not class-leading.
—New Atlas, 2 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for leading
Cite this Entry
“Leading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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