Meanings
leading1
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of lead
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.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
- not comparableOccurring in advance; preceding.
The stock market can be a leading economic indicator.
1 more example
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.
2025 July 9, Oliver Wheeler, “Action stations...”, in RAIL, number 1039, page 68
leading2
plural leadings
- An act by which one is led or guided.
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.
1892, Walt Whitman, “A Song for Occupations”, in Leaves of Grass […], Philadelphia, Pa.: David McKay, publisher, […], →OCLC, stanza 5, page 1752 more examples
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.
1792, William Carey, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for theIn 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.
1904, Edward Dowden, Robert Browning - archaicCommand of an army or military unit.
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. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii
leading3
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveProviding guidance or direction.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivegreatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement
adjectivegoing or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way
adjectivehaving the leading position or higher score in a contest
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
leading · verb, adjective
- Proto-Germanic*laidijaną“to lead”
- Proto-Germanic*laidijandz
- Proto-West Germanic*laidijandī
- Old Englishlǣdende
- Middle Englishledinge
- Englishleading
From Middle English ledinge, ledynge, ledand, ledande, ledende, from Old English lǣdende, from Proto-West Germanic *laidijandī, from Proto-Germanic *laidijandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (“to lead”), equivalent to lead + -ing. Compare West Frisian liedend, Dutch leidend, German leitend, Swedish ledande, Icelandic leiðandi.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →leading · noun
- Middle Englishleding
- Englishleading
From Middle English leding, ledyng, ledinge, ledunge, equivalent to lead + -ing. Cognate with Dutch leiding (“conduit, leading, guidance, leadership”), German Leitung (“line, conduit, cable”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →leading · noun
- Middle Englishleedynge
- Englishleading
From Middle English leedynge, equivalent to lead (chemical element) + -ing; so named because in metal typesetting (letterpress and hot metal typesetting), pieces of lead (slugs, strips, blocks, etc) were often the mechanical means of producing the gap.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian водещ, ръководен
- водещ (vodešt)providing guidance
- ръководен (răkovoden)providing guidance
- во́дещ (vódešt)ranking first
- гла́вен (gláven)ranking first
- осно́вен (osnóven)ranking first
- прева́рващ (prevárvašt)preceding
- предхо́ждащ (predhóždašt)preceding
- междуре́дие (meždurédie)Vertical space added between lines
Chinese Mandarin 行距
- 行距 (hángjù)Vertical space added between lines
Czech proklad řádků
- proklad řádkůVertical space added between lines
Esperanto linipaŝo
- linipaŝoVertical space added between lines
Finnish johdatteleva, johtava
- johdattelevaproviding guidance
- johtavaranking first
- edeltäväpreceding
- rivivälistysVertical space added between lines
French interligne
- interligneVertical space added between lines
German führend, vorangehend
- führendproviding guidance
- vorangehendpreceding
- vorausgehendpreceding
- führendpreceding
- ZeilenabstandVertical space added between lines
- InterlineaVertical space added between lines
- ZeilendurchschussVertical space added between lines
- DurchschussVertical space added between lines
Greek κορυφαίος, διάστιχο
- κορυφαίος (koryfaíos)ranking first
- διάστιχο (diásticho)Vertical space added between lines
Hindi नेतृत्व, अग्रसर
- नेतृत्व (netŕtva)providing guidance
- अग्रसर (agrasar)ranking first
Hungarian sorköz
- sorközVertical space added between lines
Indonesian interlini
- interliniVertical space added between lines
Irish scaradh
- scaradhVertical space added between lines
Italian principale, principale
- principaleproviding guidance
- principaleranking first
- primoranking first
- maggioreranking first
- precedentepreceding
- interlineaVertical space added between lines
Japanese インテル
- インテル (interu)Vertical space added between lines
Korean 행간
- 행간 (haenggan)Vertical space added between lines
Polish przewodzić, leading
- przewodzićproviding guidance
- leadingVertical space added between lines
Portuguese entrelinha, espaçamento entre linhas
- entrelinhaVertical space added between lines
- espaçamento entre linhasVertical space added between lines
Russian веду́щий, руководя́щий
- веду́щий (vedúščij)providing guidance
- руководя́щий (rukovodjáščij)providing guidance
- наводя́щий (navodjáščij)providing guidance
- веду́щий (vedúščij)ranking first
- интерлиньяж (interlinʹjaž)Vertical space added between lines
Spanish principal, entrelínea
- principalproviding guidance
- entrelíneaVertical space added between lines
Swedish ledande, ledande
- ledandeproviding guidance
- ledanderanking first
- radavståndVertical space added between lines
Welsh rhynglinellu
- rhynglinelluVertical space added between lines
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with leading
Anagrams
Cite this entry
leading. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leading
“leading.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leading. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leading,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leading.
Source: leading on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.