leading light

American  

[lee-ding] / ˈli dɪŋ /

noun

1. an important or influential person.

   a leading light of the community.

---

leading light British  

/ ˈliːdɪŋ /

noun

1. an important or outstanding person, esp in an organization or cause

2. nautical a less common term for range light

---

leading light Idioms  

1. An important or influential individual, as in Jim was a leading light in his community. This expression, alluding to moral guidance, dates from about 1870, but terms such as a shining light have been used for an outstanding person since the first half of the 1500s.

---

Etymology

Origin of leading light

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

The New York Times said the man behind his own JW Anderson brand and considered one of his generation's leading lights was "thinking about many -- perhaps too many -- disparate ideas".

From Barron's

But investors joining the hunt for havens would do well to understand the fundamental trading differences between the leading lights of this flight to safety—gold and copper.

From Barron's

Many nations do not send athletes to it, while others take skeleton teams, shorn of their leading lights, whose winter focus instead lies on training for lucrative spring road races or prominent summer track opportunities.

From BBC

By then, it had long been obvious Norris' talent marked him out as one of the leading lights of the new generation of drivers, along with his compatriot George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

From BBC

The latest episode of fragility started last week, when shares of some of the sector’s leading lights lost ground.

From The Wall Street Journal