leading man

noun

: an actor who plays the leading male role

Examples of leading man in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Changing that pattern this season is a tall task, but Miami’s new leading man is frank about understanding the big picture at hand. James Jackson, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025 There’s still no director, no story, and no script for a new installment, sources say, and without those elements little progress has been made on finding a new leading man. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025 Which means he may be stuck, for better or worse, as a leading man rather than a weirdo. Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025 With Jimmy Butler gone, the Heat still needs a new leading man to augment the Bam Adebayo/Tyler Herro core and relieve some of the offensive pressure off both of them. Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for leading man

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of leading man was in 1827

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Cite this Entry

“Leading man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading%20man. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

leading man

noun
: an actor who plays the leading male role in a play or movie

More from Merriam-Webster on leading man

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