lead, leading (noun)

thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing

leadership, leading (adj)

the activity of leading

"his leadership inspired the team"

leading(p), prima(p), star(p), starring(p), stellar(a) (adj)

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"

leading(a), preeminent (adj)

greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement

"our greatest statesmen"; "the country's leading poet"; "a preeminent archeologist"

leading (adj)

going or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way

"we rode in the leading car"; "the leading edge of technology"

ahead(p), in the lead, leading (adj)

having the leading position or higher score in a contest

"he is ahead by a pawn"; "the leading team in the pennant race"

Leading

In typography, leading refers to the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. The term originated in the days of hand-typesetting, when thin strips of lead were inserted into the forms to increase the vertical distance between lines of type. The term is still used in modern page layout software such as QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign. In consumer-oriented word processing software, this concept is usually referred to as "line spacing" or "interline spacing."

Leading

In typography, leading ( LED-ing) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies. In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to increase the vertical distance between them. The thickness of the strip is called leading and is equal to the difference between the size of the type and the distance from one baseline to the next. For instance, given a type size of 10 points and a distance between baselines of 12 points, the leading would be 2 points. The term is still used in modern page-layout software such as QuarkXPress, the Affinity Suite, and Adobe InDesign. Consumer-oriented word-processing software often talks of line spacing or, more accurately, interline spacing.