frontrunner

British

/ ˈfrʌntˌrʌnə /

noun

informal the leader or a favoured contestant in a race, election, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Lewis was the frontrunner in the race and dominated his rivals in fundraising with C$1.2m during his campaign.

From BBC

Frontrunner Rafael "Porky" Lopez Aliaga recently toured one poor district where he was greeted by a giant stuffed snake.

From Barron's

If Spurs are to seek an immediate full-time appointment, this leaves Roberto de Zerbi as frontrunner.

From BBC

The vice president, on the other hand, has been seen as the frontrunner in most public polling for months.

From Salon

Inside the theater, both the frontrunner films have a chance of breaking the all-time Oscar wins record -- shared at 11 between "Ben-Hur," "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023