lean in

verb

leaned in; leaning in; leans in

intransitive verb

: to persevere in spite of risk or difficulty
Then there's the racial justice crisis and making sure that we are leaning in during this time of recovery and crisis into the very important conversations around diversity and inclusion.Laura Fuentes, quoted in Washington (D.C.) Business Journal
Attending college began as a time of "leaning in," because it took courage to attend a large campus without much parental support and no friends attending with me.Sue Nokes

Examples of lean in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Image In Africa’s coup belt, a string of countries whose governments have been toppled in recent years, the ruling military juntas have leaned in to this criticism to rally public opinion. Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025 Victoria was captured in the next snap smiling with her arm around Cruz, as Romeo leaned in towards the pair. Escher Walcott, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024 Late in the fourth quarter, with almost all the Chargers’ starters standing on the sideline waiting out a 40-7 rout over the New England Patriots, Derwin James Jr. leaned in close to Justin Herbert. Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2024 But this week his power seemed to be growing, and Musk appeared to be leaning in. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lean in 

Word History

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lean in was in 2001

Dictionary Entries Near lean in

Cite this Entry

“Lean in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lean%20in. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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