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.
Through a study published today in Nature Communications, the researchers imaged mouse T cells and observed that, following a chemokine signal, WNK1 is activated at the front of the cells, called the 'leading edge'.
From Science Daily • Dec. 6, 2023
“Oh, so he’s a hero? He’s not ‘golfing,’ he’s ‘leading the way,’” Kimmel deadpanned.
From The Guardian • May 27, 2020
“Japan wanted to become a ‘leading country’ in the eyes of its visitors by making the country pristinely clean,” evident in a campaign to make the streets cleaner ahead of the 1964 Olympics said Toki.
From Reuters • Feb. 18, 2020
“But their unpredictability discourages others from acting, which is where ‘leading from behind’ runs aground.”
From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2014
He's talking of 'those poor sheep in the wilderness,' and 'leading them' to something.
From What Necessity Knows by Dougall, Lily
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.
