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
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.
"Chinese AI models are leading the way in the open-source innovation ecosystem," National People's Congress spokesman Lou Qinjian told policymakers in April.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
This year’s El Niño is expected to be particularly extreme, leading to its informal description by some weather forecasters as “super.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
U.S. stocks rose, with the Nasdaq leading gains, after SpaceX’s earnings gave a big boost to the artificial-intelligence trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
And this should absolutely not be news of any kind, but recently a leading music magazine posted a news story that announced: “Going to concerts alone is a top-tier human experience.”
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
The sloped hallway leading down to the plane was still empty, and the colorful travel posters lining the walls—”Sky Trails!
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
