led up; leading up; leads up
Examples of lead-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 1 Jan. 2026
When the film was released, Clooney intended to draw parallels between Murrow and how the media was covering the lead-up to the Iraq War.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Jan. 2026
Sibray, a former police officer, told detectives that in the months leading up to Briar's murder, Stephen came over often and that she was accompanied by her assistant coach, 19-year-old Shelby Hiestand.
—Michael Loftus, CBS News, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lead-up
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Noun
The giant spider felt like a failure of imagination — all that lead-up to the final battle, and that’s the most interesting thing the show could come up with?
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 1 Jan. 2026
When the film was released, Clooney intended to draw parallels between Murrow and how the media was covering the lead-up to the Iraq War.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Verb
Salvador Plasencia, a former doctor who illegally supplied ketamine to the star in the weeks leading up to his death, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in December after pleading guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine in June.
—Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Jan. 2026
Sibray, a former police officer, told detectives that in the months leading up to Briar's murder, Stephen came over often and that she was accompanied by her assistant coach, 19-year-old Shelby Hiestand.
—Michael Loftus, CBS News, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lead-up
Cite this Entry
“Lead-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead-up. Accessed 4 Jan. 2026.
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lead up
verb
: to make a gradual approach to a topic
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