leading | meaning of leading in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

leading

Word family (noun) lead leader leadership (adjective) lead leading (verb) lead
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishleadinglead‧ing1 /ˈliːdɪŋ/ ●●○ W3 adjective [only before noun]    1 IMPORTANTbest, most important, or most successful  The army played a leading role in organizing the attempted coup.  the leading industrial nations  a leading heart specialist  leading members of the government2 leading edge3 leading light4 leading question 5 leading lady/man leading articleExamples from the CorpusleadingIn private practice, and by virtue of his influential writings, Maudsley soon became the leading alienist of his generation.After two days all but the twenty-four leading amateurs and the thirty-six leading professionals would be eliminated.She was one of America's leading athletes.The leading crews are due to reach the end of their voyage at Southampton on Sunday.His reasoning is lengthy and perhaps not quite the same as that of the leading judgment.Debbie was one of the leading lights in the drama club.Most of this fibre is from cereal sources which are particularly recommended for their health value by some leading medical researchers.Some of the world's leading politicians will be meeting in Geneva to discuss disarmament.CCI is a leading provider of cellular phone service in Ohio.The course is recognized for producing graduates who are immediately employable and who can play leading roles in the development of computing.the leading scorer in college basketballThe item input is taken as is, including commas, quotes and leading spaces. played a leading roleAnd in the creation of all this euphoria Berel Karlinsky had played a leading role.The Bolsheviks played a leading role both in the Moscow Soviet and in the December rising.He topped the poll for the shadow cabinet elections and played a leading role in the policy review process.The company has played a leading role year in promoting tax and electric rate relief for Massachusetts businesses.Related topics: Constructionleadinglead‧ing2 /ˈledɪŋ/ noun [uncountable] technical    TBClead used for covering roofs, for window frames etcExamples from the CorpusleadingThen McClure turned in another sparking display, assisted by solid leading from Ronnie Oliver to lift the pairs title.From Longman Business Dictionaryleadinglead‧ing /ˈliːdɪŋ/ adjective [only before a noun]MARKETING best, most important, or most successfulthe leading software provider in the domestic PC marketthe nation’s leading seller of personal computers