The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Lead \Lead\ (l[=e]d), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Led (l[e^]d); p. pr.
   & vb. n. Leading.] [OE. leden, AS. l[=ae]dan (akin to OS.
   l[=e]dian, D. leiden, G. leiten, Icel. le[imac][eth]a, Sw.
   leda, Dan. lede), properly a causative fr. AS. li[eth]an to
   go; akin to OHG. l[imac]dan, Icel. l[imac][eth]a, Goth.
   lei[thorn]an (in comp.). Cf. Lode, Loath.]
   1. To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some
      physical contact or connection; as, a father leads a
      child; a jockey leads a horse with a halter; a dog leads a
      blind man.
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            If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall down in
            the ditch.                            --Wyclif
                                                  (Matt. xv.
                                                  14.)
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            They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto
            the brow of the hill.                 --Luke iv. 29.
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            In thy right hand lead with thee
            The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.    --Milton.
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   2. To guide or conduct in a certain course, or to a certain
      place or end, by making the way known; to show the way,
      esp. by going with or going in advance of. Hence,
      figuratively: To direct; to counsel; to instruct; as, to
      lead a traveler; to lead a pupil.
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            The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a
            cloud, to lead them the way.          --Ex. xiii.
                                                  21.
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            He leadeth me beside the still waters. --Ps. xxiii.
                                                  2.
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            This thought might lead me through the world's vain
            mask.
            Content, though blind, had I no better guide.
                                                  --Milton.
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   3. To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or
      charge of; as, to lead an army, an exploring party, or a
      search; to lead a political party.
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            Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he
            might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or
            possess places.                       --South.
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   4. To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be
      foremost or chief among; as, the big sloop led the fleet
      of yachts; the Guards led the attack; Demosthenes leads
      the orators of all ages.
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            As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way. --Fairfax.
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            And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. --Leigh
                                                  Hunt.
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   5. To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to
      prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure; as, to lead
      one to espouse a righteous cause.
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            He was driven by the necessities of the times, more
            than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of
            actions.                              --Eikon
                                                  Basilike.
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            Silly women, laden with sins, led away by divers
            lusts.                                --2 Tim. iii.
                                                  6 (Rev. Ver.).
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   6. To guide or conduct one's self in, through, or along (a
      certain course); hence, to proceed in the way of; to
      follow the path or course of; to pass; to spend. Also, to
      cause (one) to proceed or follow in (a certain course).
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            That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. --1
                                                  Tim. ii. 2.
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            Nor thou with shadowed hint confuse
            A life that leads melodious days.     --Tennyson.
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            You remember . . . the life he used to lead his wife
            and daughter.                         --Dickens.
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   7. (Cards & Dominoes) To begin a game, round, or trick, with;
      as, to lead trumps; the double five was led.
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   To lead astray, to guide in a wrong way, or into error; to
      seduce from truth or rectitude.

   To lead captive, to carry or bring into captivity.

   To lead the way, to show the way by going in front; to act
      as guide. --Goldsmith.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Lead \Lead\ (l[e^]d), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leaded; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Leading.]
   1. To cover, fill, or affect with lead; as, continuous firing
      leads the grooves of a rifle.
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   2. (Print.) To place leads between the lines of; as, to lead
      a page; leaded matter.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Leading \Lead"ing\, n.
   1. The act of guiding, directing, governing, or enticing;
      guidance. --Shak.
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   2. Suggestion; hint; example. [Archaic] --Bacon.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Leading \Lead"ing\, a.
   Guiding; directing; controlling; foremost; as, a leading
   motive; a leading man; a leading example. -- Lead"ing*ly,
   adv.
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   Leading case (Law), a reported decision which has come to
      be regarded as settling the law of the question involved.
      --Abbott.

   Leading motive [a translation of G. leitmotif] (Mus.), a
      guiding theme; in the musical drama of Wagner, a marked
      melodic phrase or short passage which always accompanies
      the reappearance of a certain person, situation, abstract
      idea, or allusion in the course of the play; a sort of
      musical label. Also called leitmotif or leitmotiv.

   Leading note (Mus.), the seventh note or tone in the
      ascending major scale; the sensible note.

   Leading question, a question so framed as to guide the
      person questioned in making his reply.

   Leading strings, strings by which children are supported
      when beginning to walk.

   To be in leading strings, to be in a state of infancy or
      dependence, or under the guidance of others.

   Leading wheel, a wheel situated before the driving wheels
      of a locomotive engine.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

leading
    adj 1: 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" [syn: leading(p), prima(p),
           star(p), starring(p), stellar(a)]
    2: greatest in importance or degree or significance or
       achievement; "our greatest statesmen"; "the country's leading
       poet"; "a preeminent archeologist" [syn: leading(a),
       preeminent]
    3: going or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way; "we
       rode in the leading car"; "the leading edge of technology"
       [ant: following]
    4: having the leading position or higher score in a contest; "he
       is ahead by a pawn"; "the leading team in the pennant race"
       [syn: ahead(p), in the lead, leading]
    n 1: thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in
         printing [syn: lead, leading]
    2: the activity of leading; "his leadership inspired the team"
       [syn: leadership, leading]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

161 Moby Thesaurus words for "leading":
   absolute, all-absorbing, antecedent, anterior, arch, ascendant,
   at the head, authoritarian, authoritative, authority, authorized,
   autocratic, banner, best, boss, capital, cardinal, central,
   champion, chief, clothed with authority, command, commanding,
   competent, conduct, consequential, considerable, control,
   controlling, crowning, directing, direction, directive,
   directorial, directory, dominant, duly constituted, eminent,
   empowered, ex officio, exordial, first, focal, fore, foregoing,
   forehand, foremost, forward, front, frontal, general, governance,
   governing, government, great, greatest, guidance, guiding,
   handling, head, heading, headmost, hegemonic, hegemonistic,
   highest, husbandry, imperative, important, in ascendancy,
   in charge, in chief, in the ascendant, inaugural, influential,
   initial, initiatory, lead, magisterial, maiden, main, management,
   managerial, managery, managing, manipulation, master, matchless,
   mighty, momentous, monocratic, noted, notorious, official,
   ordering, outstanding, overriding, overruling, paramount, peerless,
   pilotage, popular, potent, powerful, precedent, preceding,
   precessional, precursory, predominant, predominate, preeminent,
   prefatory, preliminary, preludial, prelusive, premier, preparatory,
   prepollent, preponderant, preponderate, prepotent, prestigious,
   prevailing, prevalent, prevenient, primal, primary, prime,
   principal, prior, proemial, prominent, propaedeutic, puissant,
   ranking, regnant, regulating, regulation, regulative, regulatory,
   reigning, ruling, running, senior, sovereign, star, steerage,
   steering, stellar, substantial, supereminent, superior, supreme,
   the conn, the helm, the wheel, topflight, topmost, totalitarian,
   unsurpassed, uppermost, weighty



The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

leading

    /ledding/ The spacing between lines of text.  This is
   defined when a font is designed but can often be altered in
   order to change the appearance of the text or for special
   effects.  It is measured in points and is normally 120% of
   the height of the text.

   See also kerning, tracking.

   (1996-06-07)


Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

LEADING. That which is to be followed; as, a leading case; leading question
leading counsel.