leading

lead·ing ¹  (ldng)

adj.

1. Having a position in the lead; foremost: the leading candidate.

2. Chief; principal: the leading cause of high inflation. See Synonyms at chief.

3. Of or performing a lead in a theatrical production: a leading role; a leading lady.

4. Formulated so as to elicit a desired response: a leading question.

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leading·ly adv.

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lead·ing ²  (ldng)

n.

1. A border or rim of lead, as around a windowpane.

2. Printing The spacing between lines, usually measured in points.

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leading¹

adj

1. guiding, directing, or influencing

2. (prenominal) principal or primary

3. in the first position the leading car in the procession

4. (Mathematics) Maths (of a coefficient) associated with the term of highest degree in a polynomial containing one variable in 5x² + 2x + 3, 5 is the leading coefficient

leadingly  adv

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leading²

n

(Communication Arts / Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) Printing the spacing between lines of photocomposed or digitized type Also called interlinear spacing

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	leading - thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing lead strip, slip - artifact consisting of a narrow flat piece of material
	2.	leading - the activity of leading; "his leadership inspired the team" leadership activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" helm - a position of leadership; "the President is at the helm of the Ship of State" lead - a position of leadership (especially in the phrase `take the lead'); "he takes the lead in any group"; "we were just waiting for someone to take the lead"; "they didn't follow our lead" trend setting - the initiating or popularizing of a trend or fashion
Adj.	1.	leading - 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" prima, star, starring, stellar major - of greater importance or stature or rank; "a major artist"; "a major role"; "major highways"
	2.	leading - greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement; "our greatest statesmen"; "the country's leading poet"; "a preeminent archeologist" preeminent superior - of or characteristic of high rank or importance; "a superior ruler"
	3.	leading - going or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way; "we rode in the leading car"; "the leading edge of technology" following - going or proceeding or coming after in the same direction; "the crowd of following cars made the occasion seem like a parade"; "tried to outrun the following footsteps"
	4.	leading - having the leading position or higher score in a contest; "he is ahead by a pawn"; "the leading team in the pennant race" ahead, in the lead up - being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level; "the anchor is up"; "the sun is up"; "he lay face up"; "he is up by a pawn"; "the market is up"; "the corn is up"

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leading

adjective principal, top, major, main, first, highest, greatest, ruling, chief, prime, key, primary, supreme, most important, outstanding, governing, superior, dominant, foremost, pre-eminent, unsurpassed, number one Britain's future as a leading industrial nation depends on investment.
minor, secondary, lesser, subordinate, inferior, superficial, incidental

Translations

leading [ˈliːdɪŋ]

A. ADJ

1. (= foremost) [expert, politician, writer] → principal, más destacado (Ind) [producer] → principal; [company, product, brand] → líder (Theat, Cine) [part, role] → principal, de protagonista
one of Britain's leading writers → uno de los principales or más destacados escritores británicos
to play the leading role or part in [+ film, play] → interpretar el papel principal or de protagonista en

2. (= prominent) [expert, politician, writer] → destacado
leading scientists believe it will be possible → destacados científicos creen que será posible
a leading member of the Sikh community → un miembro destacado de la comunidad sij
a leading industrial nation → un país industrializado líder, uno de los principales países industrializados
to play a leading role or part in sth (fig) → jugar un papel importante or destacado en algo

3. (in race) [athlete, horse, driver] → en cabeza, que va a la cabeza; (in procession, convoy) → que va a la cabeza

B. CPD leading article N (Brit) (Press) → artículo m de fondo, editorial m
leading edge N (Aer) [of wing] → borde m anterior; (= forefront) → vanguardia f
see also leading-edge to be at or on the leading edge of → estar a la vanguardia de
leading lady N (Theat) → primera actriz f (Cine) → protagonista f
leading light N → figura f principal
leading man N (Theat) → primer actor m (Cine) → protagonista m
leading question N → pregunta f capciosa

leading [ˈliːdɪŋ] adj

(= important) → de premier plan

(in front) → de tête
leading article n (British) → éditorial m (US) → article m de tête
leading-edge [ˌliːdɪŋˈɛdʒ] adj → de pointe
leading edge n (= cutting edge) to be at the leading edge of sth → être à la pointe de qch
leading lady n → vedette f féminine
to be sb's leading lady → partager la tête d'affiche avec qn
Leslie Caron is his leading lady → Leslie Caron partage la tête d'affiche avec lui.
leading light n (= person) → figure f de proue
He is one of the leading lights of the new generation of poets → C'est l'une des figures de proue de cette nouvelle génération de poètes.
He's one of the leading lights in the campaign → C'est l'une des personnalités les plus en vue de la campagne., C'est l'une des figures de proue de la campagne.
leading man n → vedette m masculine
to be sb's leading man → partager la tête d'affiche avec qn
her leading man → l'acteur qui partage la tête d'affiche avec elle
leading question n → question f tendancieuse
leading role n

(in activity, project) → rôle m prépondérant, rôle m de premier plan
to play a leading role in sth → jouer un rôle de premier plan dans qch, jouer un rôle prépondérant dans qch

(in play, film, opera) → rôle m principal
to play the leading role in a play → jouer le rôle principal dans une pièce
lead pencil [ˌlɛdˈpɛns^əl] n → crayon m noir, crayon m à papier
lead poisoning [ˌlɛdˈpɔɪz^ənɪŋ] n → saturnisme m
lead replacement petrol n → super m additivé
lead singer [ˌliːdˈsɪŋə^r] n (in pop group) → chanteur/euse m/f
Mick Hucknall, lead singer of Simply Red → Mick Hucknall, le chanteur de Simply Red
lead time [ˈliːdtaɪm] n → délai m de livraison
lead weight [ˌlɛdˈweɪt] n → plomb m

leading:

leading article

n → Leitartikel m

leading case

n (Jur) → wichtiger Präzedenzfall

leading counsel

n (Brit Jur, for the defence) → Hauptverteidiger(in) m(f); (for the prosecution) → Kronanwalt m → /-anwältin f

leading edge

n

(Aviat) → (Flügel)vorderkante f

the leading of technology → die Spitzentechnologie; to be at or on the leading of technology (machine etc) → zur Spitzentechnologie gehören; (country etc) → in der Technologie führend sein

leading-edge

adj company → führend; leading technology → Spitzentechnologie f

leading lady

n → Hauptdarstellerin f; she was Mel Gibson’s leading → sie spielte an der Seite von Mel Gibson die weibliche Hauptrolle

leading light

n → Nummer eins f; (= person also) → großes Licht, Leuchte f

leading man

n → Hauptdarsteller m; he was Sharon Stone’s leading → er spielte an der Seite von Sharon Stone die männliche Hauptrolle

leading note

n (Mus) → Leitton m

leading question

n → Suggestivfrage f

leading reins

pl (for child) → Laufgeschirr nt

leading role

n → Hauptrolle f

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leading¹

n (Typ) → Durchschuss m

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leading²

adj

(= first) → vorderste(r, s); runner, horse, car also → führend; the leading car in the procession → das die Kolonne anführende Auto

(= most important) person, writer, politician, company → führend; leading product/sportsman → Spitzenprodukt nt → /-sportler m; leading representative → Spitzenvertreter(in) m(f); leading part or role (Theat) → Hauptrolle f; (fig) → führende Rolle (in bei); the leading issue → das Hauptthema, das wichtigste Thema; we are a leading company in … → unsere Firma ist führend auf dem Gebiet … (+gen)

leading [ˈliːdɪŋ] adj (horse, car, in race) → (che è) in testa, di testa; (in procession) → che apre la sfilata; (chief, member) → principale, preminente (Theatre) (role, character) → principale, di primo piano
one of the leading figures of this century → una delle più importanti figure di questo secolo