Leading

/ˈliːdɪŋ/ · verb

Meaning

present participle and gerund of lead.

Definitions by Sense

1. present participle and gerund of lead
2. Providing guidance or direction.
3. Ranking first.
4. Occurring in advance; preceding.
5. An act by which one is led or guided.
6. (archaic) Command of an army or military unit.
7. (typography) Vertical space added between lines; line spacing.

Example Sentences

I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.

Avoid leading questions if you really want the truth.

He is a leading supplier of plumbing supplies in the county.

The stock market can be a leading economic indicator.

Passengers on the earliest railway services would not even have enjoyed the luxury of a platform, instead having to step up onto the waiting open top wagons, where they would experience a journey that left many choking on the plumes of smoke exhaled by the leading locomotive.

It has been said that we ought not to force our way, but to wait for the openings, and leadings of Providence; but it might with equal propriety be answered in this case, neither ought we to neglect embracing those openings in providence which daily present themselves to us.

I do not affirm that what you see beyond is futile, I do not advise you to stop, / I do not say leadings you thought great are not great, / But I say that none lead to greater than these lead to.

In his poetic method each writer followed the leadings of his own genius, without reference to common rules and standards; the individualism of the Revolutionary epoch asserted itself to the full.

Synonyms for leading

Antonyms for leading

Related Words

Word Forms

• leadings

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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