: something (such as a television show or segment) that leads into something else
a lead-in to the commercial
lead-in adjective

Examples of lead-in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The 12 Broadcast Shows Still on the Bubble Lopez vs. Lopez this season averaged 2.33 million total viewers (with delayed playback), right on par with last year but frittering away nearly half of its Happy’s Place lead-in. Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 9 May 2025 After a promising freshman run, the crime drama starring Jesse L. Martin fell off significantly in the ratings during its second season with comparable lead-ins, The Voice on Monday in Season 1 and The Voice on Tuesday in Season 2. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 9 May 2025 As for her lead-in, Stephen Colbert, talk of his future on the network seems to be on hold for another day. Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2025 The Summit Season 1 averaged just 2.6 million total viewers — barely half of its Survivor lead-in. Nick Caruso, TVLine, 22 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lead-in

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lead-in was in 1913

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lead-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead-in. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

lead-in

noun
ˈlēd-ˌin
: something (as a television show or segment) that leads into something else
lead-in adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on lead-in

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