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
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 18 July 2025
Intelsat has been playing a leading role in both of these globe-changing breakthroughs, with its colossal cutting-edge satellites beaming broadband internet connections to expanding waves of users across the planet, including hotspots that have been decimated by armed conflicts.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 17 July 2025
Both players were invited for tours of facilities at Old Trafford and Carrington, with Fedorenko and Cox leading talks, alongside head of player development and coaching Travis Binnion.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for leading
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Before Emmy nominee Harris Yulin died on June 10, he had been cast in a leading role in MGM+‘s upcoming comedy series American Classic, starring opposite Kevin Kline, Jon Tenney, and Laura Linney.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 18 July 2025
Intelsat has been playing a leading role in both of these globe-changing breakthroughs, with its colossal cutting-edge satellites beaming broadband internet connections to expanding waves of users across the planet, including hotspots that have been decimated by armed conflicts.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Noun
While other leading labs have been criticized for delaying their safety disclosures, xAI appears to have skipped the process of disclosing a report entirely.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 17 July 2025
Both players were invited for tours of facilities at Old Trafford and Carrington, with Fedorenko and Cox leading talks, alongside head of player development and coaching Travis Binnion.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 July 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 25 Jul. 2025.
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