leading
Pluralleadings
- 1Ranking at or near the top in importance, position, or success.
The university is home to several leading researchers in climate science.
Their firm remains the leading exporter of coffee in the region.
UsageComes before the noun: a leading expert, one of the leading firms, the leading cause of death.
- 2Present participle and gerund of lead.
The general is leading his troops across the river at dawn.
Leading by example is the kind of management she respects.
Note
The same spelling also belongs to the verb made from the metal, which means covering something with lead or setting leads between lines of type. Context, not form, tells the two apart.
- 3Happening in advance of something else, or coming before it in a sequence.
Economists treat new orders for factory goods as a leading indicator of growth in the months ahead.
The script strips leading and trailing spaces from every field before saving the record.
UsageOften paired with an opposite: leading and lagging indicators, leading and trailing spaces.
Oppositefollowing, trailing, lagging
Note
Here the word is about order in time or sequence, and its partners show it best: what is leading is set against what is lagging, trailing or following. Economists pair a leading indicator with a lagging one. In text and data, leading and trailing spaces sit at either end of a string.
Less common meanings
- 4Guidance that leads or directs someone, or the act of giving it.
At the Quaker meeting, she rose to speak only after she felt a clear leading to share what was on her heart.
The pastor said the church's decision to open a shelter came after months of prayer and seeking the Spirit's leading.
UsageMostly in religious writing, after a possessive: God's leading, the Spirit's leading.
Note
William Carey in 1792 answers those who would wait for 'the openings, and leadings of Providence'. Edward Dowden has each poet follow 'the leadings of his own genius'. The guide in these uses is usually an inner or unseen force rather than a person.
- 5Providing guidance or direction toward a particular result.
A skilled interviewer avoids leading questions that suggest the desired reply.
Her leading remarks gradually steered the meeting toward a decision.
UsageUsually in a leading question: one that hints at the answer wanted. It does not mean the main question.
Similarsuggestive
Oppositeneutral
- 6SayLED-ing/ˈlɛdɪŋ/The vertical space added between lines of text; line spacing.
The designer increased the leading to make the page easier to read.
Tight leading made the dense paragraph look cramped on the page.
UsageSaid like lead the metal, so it rhymes with heading. Designers add, increase or tighten the leading.
Similarspacing
Note
A printer's word that carries its metal in its name. In letterpress and hot-metal setting, the gap between lines was made with strips and slugs of lead. That is why it is the metal's word, unrelated to guiding. Designers loosen it for readability and tighten it to fit copy.
- 7The role of commanding troops; charge of an army or other military force.
Art thou but Captaine of a thouſand horſe, That by Characters grauen in thy browes, And by thy martiall face and ſtout aſpect, Deſeru’ſt to haue the leading of an hoſte?
c. 1587, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First PartNote
Its usual frame is the leading of plus a force: an army, a host, three regiments. Marlowe's Tamburlaine, written about 1587–1588, asks whether a man with so martial a face deserves 'to haue the leading of an hoste', and the line shows the weight of the word: to have the leading was to hold the command. The use is archaic now; modern English says command or charge, so keep leading for period flavor or quotation.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Christopher Marlowe wrote Tamburlaine. en.wikipedia.org
- The play was written approximately in 1587–1588. en.wikipedia.org
- The quoted wording occurs in the play, in Tamburlaine's speech to Theridamas about his martial appearance. emed.folger.edu
- The historical military sense means holding command. en.wiktionary.org
Showing meanings only.
leading is a form of lead
lead, verb: To result in something or be the cause of it. Full entry
- Spelling
- lead → leading: add -ing
Practice
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Origins
This is from Middle English ledinge, from Old English lǣdende, going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic present participle forms of the verb meaning "to lead." It is equivalent to lead + -ing, and is related to Dutch leidend, German leitend, and Swedish ledande.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The participial form descends through Middle English ledinge and Old English lǣdende from reconstructed West Germanic and Germanic present participles of the verb meaning 'to lead'. en.wiktionary.org
- Leading is equivalent to lead plus -ing. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch leidend, German leitend, and Swedish ledande are related forms. en.wiktionary.org
Formed in Middle English, where it was leding, as lead + -ing. Its cognates include Dutch leiding ("conduit, guidance") and German Leitung ("line, conduit, cable").
This comes from Middle English leedynge, equivalent to lead (the chemical element) + -ing. It was so named because in metal typesetting, pieces of lead such as slugs and strips were the usual means of producing the gap between lines.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The typographical noun derives from Middle English leedynge and is equivalent to lead (the chemical element) plus -ing. en.wiktionary.org
- The name comes from the lead strips used to separate lines in metal typesetting. en.wikipedia.org
- Slugs were among the lead spacing materials used in metal typesetting. en.wikipedia.org