leading
1 Americanadjective
-
chief; principal; most important; foremost.
a leading toy manufacturer.
-
coming in advance of others; first.
We rode in the leading car.
-
directing, guiding.
- Synonyms:
- ruling
noun
adjective
-
guiding, directing, or influencing
-
(prenominal) principal or primary
-
in the first position
the leading car in the procession
-
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
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
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.
Said dog may have been witness to a supernatural murder, leading the group of teens to set out to solve the case.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Broncos' Emarly Bitungane opened the scoring in the first minute, with centre Brandon Webster-Mansfield leading the try-haul with five.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
On Sunday, SK Hynix and leading chip maker Nvidia announced a “multiyear technology partnership” to jointly develop the next generation of memory for AI infrastructure.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
Moody’s cites the company’s leading position in the videogame industry as well as its ecosystem surrounding Weixin and WeChat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
They made for much easier resting posts, so I just followed them, stopping along the way with no idea where they were leading me.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
