leading

English

Etymology 1

From Old English lǣdan, probably a causative form of liþan ‎(“travel”).

Pronunciation

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• Hyphenation: lead‧ing
• Rhymes: -iːdɪŋ
• Rhymes: -ɛdɪŋ

Adjective

leading ‎(comparative more leading, superlative most leading)

1. Providing guidance or direction.

   Avoiding leading questions if you really want the truth.

2. Ranking first.

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

3. Occurring in advance; preceding.

   The stock market can be a leading economic indicator.

Coordinate terms

• (occurring in advance): concurrent, lagging

Hyponyms

• industry-leading

Antonyms

• trailing

Related terms

• leading indicator

Translations

providing guidance

• Finnish: johdatteleva
• German: führend (de)

• Spanish: principal (es)
• Swedish: ledande (sv)

ranking first

• Finnish: johtava (fi)

• Swedish: ledande (sv)

preceding

• Finnish: edeltävä (fi)

Noun

leading ‎(plural leadings)

1. An act by which one is led or guided
   • 1792, William Carey, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the^[1]:

     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.

   • 1855, Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass^[2]:

     […] I do not say leadings you thought great are not great, But I say that none lead to greater than these lead to.

   • 1904, Edward Dowden, Robert Browning^[3]:

     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.

Verb

leading

1. present participle of lead
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:

     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.

Etymology 2

From lead (chemical element).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛdɪŋ/
• Hyphenation: lead‧ing

Noun

leading ‎(uncountable)

1. (typography) Vertical space added between lines; line spacing

Translations

Vertical space added between lines; line spacing

• German: Zeilenabstand (de) m
• Irish: scaradh m

• Russian: интерлиньяж (ru) m ‎(interlinʹjaž)

References

• Leading on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• adeling, aligned, dealign, dealing