leading

¹ American  

[lee-ding] / ˈli dɪŋ /

adjective

1. chief; principal; most important; foremost.

   a leading toy manufacturer.

2. coming in advance of others; first.

   We rode in the leading car.

3. directing, guiding.

   Synonyms:

   ruling

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noun

1. the act of a person or thing that leads.

leading ² American  

[led-ing] / ˈlɛd ɪŋ /

noun

1. a covering or framing of lead.

   the leading of a stained-glass window.

2. Printing. lead.

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leading ¹ British  

/ ˈliːdɪŋ /

adjective

1. guiding, directing, or influencing

2. (prenominal) principal or primary

3. in the first position

   the leading car in the procession

4. maths (of a coefficient) associated with the term of highest degree in a polynomial containing one variable

   in 5x² + 2x + 3, 5 is the leading coefficient

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leading ² British  

/ ˈlɛdɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called: interlinear spacing.  printing the spacing between lines of photocomposed or digitized type

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Other Word Forms

• leadingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of leading¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (noun); lead ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; lead ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

Origin of leading²

First recorded in 1400–50; lead ² + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Some opera critics welcomed the idea of a woman leading the Venice opera for the first time.

From The Wall Street Journal

Moments later Cronin was grabbing the kid’s shirt and leading him to the baseline, where he ordered an assistant coach to remove him from the court area and banish him to the locker room.

From Los Angeles Times

"We are creating human imitators. And so of course, the natural application for that type of system is replacing humans," leading computer science researcher Stuart Russell told AFP.

From Barron's

Pizarro has said that a leading theory of the fire’s cause is that a century-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon, which had not carried power for 50 years, somehow re-energized and sparked the fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Regulators had given Tesla 90 days from December to adjust its advertising and stop leading consumers to believe that Autopilot and Full Self-Driving could be used safely without an attentive human.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• best
• dominant
• famous
• main
• noted
• outstanding
• popular
• preeminent
• principal
• prominent
• top
• well-known