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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
leading
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a leading brand
▪ a leading brand such as Toshiba
a leading expert (=one of the best and most respected)
▪ He is one of the country’s leading experts on Islam.
a leading member (=an important member)
▪ a discussion between leading members of the profession
a leading opponent (=one of the main opponents, often influencing other people)
▪ She was a leading opponent of gun control in the Senate.
a leading opponent (=one of the main opponents)
▪ In July the authorities arrested two leading opponents of the government.
a leading role (=the most important role)
▪ They take a leading role in discussions.
a leading supporter
▪ Many of his leading supporters had by now either escaped abroad or been captured.
a leading/prominent businessman
▪ In many cities prominent businessmen encouraged and financed city centre improvements.
a leading/prominent citizen (=an important one)
▪ The protests were led by leading citizens in the community.
a leading/prominent politician
▪ The scandal ruined the careers of several leading politicians.
a major/leading cause of sth
▪ In this country, debt is a major cause of homelessness.
▪ Drug abuse is the leading cause of crime and violence.
be ahead/leading in the polls
▪ The good news is that we are ahead in the polls.
leading article
leading exponent
▪ a leading exponent of desktop publishing
leading/main/major proponent
▪ Dr George is one of the leading proponents of this view.
major/leading exporter
▪ Japan is a leading exporter of textiles.
serious/strong/leading etc contender
▪ Her album is a strong contender for the Album of the Year award.
the leading/lead article (=the main article)
▪ Look at this leading article from Newsweek’s business section.
the leading/principal actor (=acting the most important part)
▪ Schwarzeneeger was one of Hollywood’s leading actors.
the lead/leading part (=the most important part)
▪ Taking the lead part of Annie will be 11-year-old Zoe Jones.
the lead/leading role (=the most important role)
▪ He had already cast Tom Hanks in the lead role.
the main/central/leading character
▪ Alec is the central character in the play.
top/leading/highest scorer
▪ He was Palace’s top scorer.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
article
▪ Particular items like cartoons and horoscopes often had high readerships; leading articles did not.
▪ Special attention is paid to leading articles and reports of political speeches.
▪ Then came the news that the Daily Mail compositors had refused to set an offending leading article.
authority
▪ A leading authority on menswear, he is still, at 82, a keen tennis player.
▪ Mr Righton is regarded as a leading authority on the care of children.
▪ He had also made himself the leading authority on fossil fish, taking over Cuvier's work.
▪ He reads and digests material on a vast range of topics and picks the brains of most of the leading authorities.
▪ Limited Intervention A number of leading authorities support only limited review.
candidate
▪ Both the leading candidates advocated free market policies and foreign investment to revive the stagnant economy.
▪ You're a leading candidate in an important election campaign.
▪ It was conducted mainly via television and radio to ensure the security of the leading candidates.
▪ Barking, east London, is a leading candidate for a scheme.
▪ Also on Feb. 24-25 Modrow agreed, despite earlier statements to the contrary, to stand as the party's leading candidate.
edge
▪ The weaving yarn should always be on the leading edge of the carriage.
▪ One that balances leading edge technological capability with a thorough understanding of your business.
▪ Above: Tim Benson's Swallow Tail has extra leading edges for the tail section.
▪ Position this end to the leading edges of the lining.
▪ Centre right: Fine mesh slot on a Powerhouse kite - there are two slots on each leading edge.
▪ Its full spacial beauty becomes evident when the leading edge is vertical and the remote edge is horizontal.
▪ The rearmost sections of the leading edges might be detached from the joining ferrules.
▪ Similarly, most aircraft have flaps and the majority of these have leading edge slats too, but Concorde has none.
figure
▪ Other leading figures in the party are also unlikely class warriors.
▪ Under the Politburo was the Central Committee, composed of over 300 of the party's secretaries and other leading figures.
▪ Intelligenty monopolized the Central Committee of each and provided the leading figures on the national stage in 1917.
▪ He edited the school magazine and was a leading figure on the school's workers' council.
▪ I opened fire on the leading figure.
▪ The first event of 1993 is again fortunate to have secured three leading figures from very different fields of endeavour.
lady
▪ Susannah York was a young up-and-coming leading lady who had a major part in the film.
▪ Does she have the muscle to become a leading lady in her own right?
▪ He invariably falls in love with his leading ladies.
▪ She was one of his favourite leading ladies.
▪ The director and his former leading lady took action after a court ruled the case could be televised.
▪ He never married Tarita, his leading lady in Mutiny on the Bounty, but she did give him two children.
▪ Leslie, 32, has been signed up as the latest leading lady in Dennis's hit comedy Stay Lucky.
▪ The show was on the floor, and the leading lady was flawed.
man
▪ But being in a wheelchair doesn't stop them having fun - or falling for the leading man.
▪ They came at full speed, the leading man aiming to Sharpe's left, the other pulling to his right.
▪ Four years ago seven leading men threatened to boycott the event because they considered the prize money too low.
▪ My wife ran off with her leading man a month ago.
▪ At Coniston bargains were made privately on setting-day with the leading man - the taker of the gang.
▪ You're becoming quite a leading man in this crew, George Merry.
▪ Babs said it was all very well but had he forgotten their leading man was flat on his back in Sefton General?
part
▪ He has played a leading part in representing the brewing industry and is acknowledged internationally as a world expert on hops.
▪ Orleton once again seems to have taken a leading part, delivering a harsh and bitter address to the king.
▪ Although it was the men of Kent and the other home counties who took leading parts Sussex did not escape.
▪ In that upheaval Peter played a leading part.
▪ Wolverton Works became a leading part of this new organisation.
▪ The subject was Alexander the Great, and Paul Scofield was to have the leading part.
player
▪ Practices and Procedures None of the leading players in this drama doubts the need for child protection.
▪ And no one doubts that he has earned his place among the sport's leading players.
▪ Last season Boldon struggled throughout but they are a different proposition this time after signing several leading players during the winter.
▪ In passing North Harbour continue to be prominent in the to-ing and fro-ing of leading players.
▪ It is important to be around the professionals, the leading players in the world.
▪ Pat Cash and Dave Wheaton have also agreed to play and efforts are continuing to attract other leading players.
▪ The histories of the counties are examined briefly but thoroughly, with comment on all the leading players.
▪ Such long stints on the carpet are due to the consistency of leading players, whose skill is such they cancel each other out.
politician
▪ The Webbs devoted themselves to pressing these ideas upon leading politicians and civil servants.
▪ Robert Walpole, as leading politician at that time, became indispensable to George I, despite their mutual dislike for each other.
▪ Also, news bulletins concentrated heavily on the speeches and activities of leading politicians, particularly the president.
▪ Others were in the employ of leading politicians.
position
▪ The intention was to allow London to leapfrog its rivals into a leading position.
question
▪ In answer to a leading question about the temperature Of the room, he reflected that it had been cold and draughty.
▪ All right, I won't ask leading questions.
▪ To arrive there the counsellor has to stop talking, and in order to stop talking, answerable and leading questions are required.
▪ For example, a leading question may take the respondent outside the bounds of the context of everyday life.
role
▪ And in the creation of all this euphoria Berel Karlinsky had played a leading role.
▪ Why not accept that, and play a leading role in creating it in as beneficial an environment as possible?
▪ Often playing leading roles in productions her loyal and hardworking membership went back to her joining in 1947.
▪ It is crucial to our trade and investment that we continue to play a leading role in the Community.
▪ Alan Bates took the leading role.
▪ The course is recognized for producing graduates who are immediately employable and who can play leading roles in the development of computing.
▪ Dissent, hitherto confined to a number of intellectuals, became a mass phenomenon with the Protestant Church playing a leading role.
▪ One deaf person who did come through to play a leading role in deaf affairs was David Fyfe.
scorer
▪ The Boro's second leading scorer felt he had been made a scapegoat for the home defeat by Watford.
▪ The 24-year-old, leading scorer for the past four seasons, was unsettled by a £3.5 million offer from Manchester United.
▪ Town's fans are angry at losing the club's leading scorer.
▪ Capped 12 times by his country, the 24-year-old is a leading scorer for his club Rosenberg with 20 goals this season.
▪ The Seasiders, boosted by the inclusion of leading scorer Tommy Mooney were always on top and showed sharp finishing.
▪ United's leading scorer was in rampant mood and was twice kept out by superb saves from Gould.
▪ That takes Shearer's tally to 10 goals in 10 games and he is also the Premier League's leading scorer.
▪ Marwood, the League's leading scorer with 224 points, added both goals to make it 18-12.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a leading light in/of sth
▪ Mrs. Shaewitz is a leading light in the local drama society.
▪ By 1991, it was a leading light in outlandish front suspension concepts.
▪ On renouncing alcohol he was pardoned and he set sail for Darlington where he became a leading light in the Society.
▪ She loves gym workouts, swimming and playing netball - she is a leading light in a local women's team.
be leading the pack/be ahead of the pack
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ CCI is a leading provider of cellular phone service in Ohio.
▪ Debbie was one of the leading lights in the drama club.
▪ She was one of America's leading athletes.
▪ Some of the world's leading politicians will be meeting in Geneva to discuss disarmament.
▪ the leading scorer in college basketball
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ After two days all but the twenty-four leading amateurs and the thirty-six leading professionals would be eliminated.
▪ Gordon's, Tanqueray and Booth's Gins are similarly leading brands in the white spirits market.
▪ His reasoning is lengthy and perhaps not quite the same as that of the leading judgment.
▪ In private practice, and by virtue of his influential writings, Maudsley soon became the leading alienist of his generation.
▪ Most of this fibre is from cereal sources which are particularly recommended for their health value by some leading medical researchers.
▪ The leading crews are due to reach the end of their voyage at Southampton on Sunday.
▪ The course is recognized for producing graduates who are immediately employable and who can play leading roles in the development of computing.
▪ The item input is taken as is, including commas, quotes and leading spaces.
II.noun
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a leading light in/of sth
▪ Mrs. Shaewitz is a leading light in the local drama society.
▪ By 1991, it was a leading light in outlandish front suspension concepts.
▪ On renouncing alcohol he was pardoned and he set sail for Darlington where he became a leading light in the Society.
▪ She loves gym workouts, swimming and playing netball - she is a leading light in a local women's team.
be leading the pack/be ahead of the pack
the blind leading the blind
▪ It has become a case of the blind leading the blind.
▪ This is called the blind leading the blind.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Then McClure turned in another sparking display, assisted by solid leading from Ronnie Oliver to lift the pairs title.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Leading

Lead \Lead\ (l[e^]d), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.]

  1. To cover, fill, or affect with lead; as, continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.

  2. (Print.) To place leads between the lines of; as, to lead a page; leaded matter.

Leading

Lead \Lead\ (l[=e]d), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Led (l[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.] [OE. leden, AS. l[=ae]dan (akin to OS. l[=e]dian, D. leiden, G. leiten, Icel. le[imac][eth]a, Sw. leda, Dan. lede), properly a causative fr. AS. li[eth]an to go; akin to OHG. l[imac]dan, Icel. l[imac][eth]a, Goth. lei[thorn]an (in comp.). Cf. Lode, Loath.]

  1. To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact or connection; as, a father leads a child; a jockey leads a horse with a halter; a dog leads a blind man.

    If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall down in the ditch.
    --Wyclif (Matt. xv. 14.)

    They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill.
    --Luke iv. 29.

    In thy right hand lead with thee The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.
    --Milton.

  2. To guide or conduct in a certain course, or to a certain place or end, by making the way known; to show the way, esp. by going with or going in advance of. Hence, figuratively: To direct; to counsel; to instruct; as, to lead a traveler; to lead a pupil. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way. --Ex. xiii. 2

    1. He leadeth me beside the still waters.
      --Ps. xxiii.

    2. This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask. Content, though blind, had I no better guide.
      --Milton.

  3. To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; as, to lead an army, an exploring party, or a search; to lead a political party.

    Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or possess places.
    --South.

  4. To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among; as, the big sloop led the fleet of yachts; the Guards led the attack; Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages.

    As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way.
    --Fairfax.

    And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
    --Leigh Hunt.

  5. To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure; as, to lead one to espouse a righteous cause.

    He was driven by the necessities of the times, more than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of actions.
    --Eikon Basilike.

    Silly women, laden with sins, led away by divers lusts.
    --2 Tim. iii. 6 (Rev. Ver.).

  6. To guide or conduct one's self in, through, or along (a certain course); hence, to proceed in the way of; to follow the path or course of; to pass; to spend. Also, to cause (one) to proceed or follow in (a certain course).

    That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.
    --1 Tim. ii. 2.

    Nor thou with shadowed hint confuse A life that leads melodious days.
    --Tennyson.

    You remember . . . the life he used to lead his wife and daughter.
    --Dickens.

  7. (Cards & Dominoes) To begin a game, round, or trick, with; as, to lead trumps; the double five was led.

    To lead astray, to guide in a wrong way, or into error; to seduce from truth or rectitude.

    To lead captive, to carry or bring into captivity.

    To lead the way, to show the way by going in front; to act as guide.
    --Goldsmith.

Leading

Leading \Lead"ing\, a. Guiding; directing; controlling; foremost; as, a leading motive; a leading man; a leading example. -- Lead"ing*ly, adv.

Leading case (Law), a reported decision which has come to be regarded as settling the law of the question involved.
--Abbott.

Leading motive [a translation of G. leitmotif] (Mus.), a guiding theme; in the musical drama of Wagner, a marked melodic phrase or short passage which always accompanies the reappearance of a certain person, situation, abstract idea, or allusion in the course of the play; a sort of musical label. Also called leitmotif or leitmotiv.

Leading note (Mus.), the seventh note or tone in the ascending major scale; the sensible note.

Leading question, a question so framed as to guide the person questioned in making his reply.

Leading strings, strings by which children are supported when beginning to walk.

To be in leading strings, to be in a state of infancy or dependence, or under the guidance of others.

Leading wheel, a wheel situated before the driving wheels of a locomotive engine.

Leading

Leading \Lead"ing\, n.

  1. The act of guiding, directing, governing, or enticing; guidance.
    --Shak.

  2. Suggestion; hint; example. [Archaic]
    --Bacon.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
leading

"lead work; lead covering or frame of lead," mid-15c., from lead (n.1).

leading

mid-13c., "a bringing by force," from present participle of lead (v.1). Meaning "direction, guidance" is from late 14c. As an adjective, "directing, guiding."

Wiktionary
leading

Etymology 1

  1. 1 Providing guidance or direction. 2 Ranking first. 3 Occurring in advance; preceding. n. An act by which one is lead or guided v

  2. (present participle of lead English) Etymology 2

    n. (context typography English) Vertical space added between lines; line spacing

WordNet
leading
  1. n. thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing [syn: lead]

  2. the activity of leading; "his leadership inspired the team" [syn: leadership]

leading
  1. adj. indicating the most important performer or role; "the leading man"; "prima ballerina"; "prima donna"; "a star figure skater"; "the starring role"; "a stellar role"; "a stellar performance" [syn: leading(p), prima(p), star(p), starring(p), stellar(a)]

  2. going or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way; "we rode in the leading car"; "the leading edge of technology" [ant: following]

  3. greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement; "our greatest statesmen"; "the country's leading poet"; "a preeminent archeologist" [syn: greatest, leading(a), preeminent]

  4. having the leading position or higher score in a contest; "he is ahead by a pawn"; "the leading team in the pennant race" [syn: ahead(p), in the lead]

  5. purposefully formulated to elicit a desired response; "a leading question"

Wikipedia
Leading

In typography, leading refers to the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. The term originated in the days of hand- typesetting, when thin strips of lead were inserted into the forms to increase the vertical distance between lines of type. The term is still used in modern page layout software such as QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign.

In consumer-oriented word processing software, this concept is usually referred to as "line spacing" or "interline spacing."

Leading (disambiguation)

Leading is the amount of added vertical spacing between lines of type.

Leading may also refer to:

  • Leading actor, the actor who plays the role of the protagonist in a film or play
  • Leading Comics, a comic book published by what is now DC Comics during the 1940s and early 1950s
  • Leading question, a question that suggests the answer or contains the information for which the examiner is searching in common law systems
  • Leading-tone, a note resolves to a note one semitone higher or lower in music theory
  • Voice leading, a decision-making consideration when arranging voices in musical composition

Usage examples of "leading".

Then someone was helping her, telling her in some strange accent to bring him in here, hands guiding her shoulders, leading her into a tent with a soft glow of lamplight.

They walked through the tunnels, Azareel leading and Acies in the back.

I must now make my readers acquainted with the sort of life we were at that time leading in Corfu.

But when the atoms come under the influence of the higher-level morphogenetic field of a molecule, these probabilities are modified in such a way that the probability of events leading toward the actualization of the final form are enhanced, while the probability of other events is diminished.

With a loss of some two hundred men the leading regiments succeeded in reaching Colenso, and the West Surrey, advancing by rushes of fifty yards at a time, had established itself in the station, but a catastrophe had occurred at an earlier hour to the artillery which was supporting it which rendered all further advance impossible.

Convinced I could see nothing, she led me down the alley, leading me like an aerialist beckoning on the high wire.

She found a patha well-worn path leading from the riverand followed it just out of sight, afoot, leaving Hellsbane tethered in a safe place hidden by the underbrush.

The fairing for the towed array extended longitudinally aft from the leading edge of the sail to the stern.

Keebes pushed through the door leading aft into a room the full forty-two-foot width of the submarine.

Without stopping to shut the hatch Sai climbed through and ran along the tight tunnel leading to the aft compartment, and felt the deck tilt as the ship turned at high speed.

Americans thought NOW and other leading feminist organizations were selling out, for one and only one reason: Bill Clinton supported their agenda, especially their agenda on abortion.

If it were a case of agnosia, the patient would now be seeing what he had always seen, that is to say, there would have been no diminution of his visual powers, his brain would simply have been incapable of recognising a chair wherever there happened to be a chair, in other words, he would continue to react correctly to the luminous stimuli leading to the optic nerve, but, to use simple terms within the grasp of the layman, he would have lost the capacity to know what he knew and, moreover, to express it.

He does four-fifths of the agricultural labor of the South and thereby adds four-fifths to the wealth of the South derived from agriculture, the leading Southern industry.

The senior Aikido sensei was said to be a most remarkable man, possessed of ki and the leading figure of his discipline but his pupil Sato, though promising, was not of that caliber.

Mark leading the way, they rounded still another corner, brushing past nurses and candy stripers, meditative interns and the aimlessly ambling, dull-eyed relatives of the ailing.