leading lady
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: leading man
Meaning · English
The actress or actor who takes the chief role in a play. Leading note (music}. The seventh of the diatonic scale, which leads to the octave, only half a tone higher.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “leading lady” mean?
The actress or actor who takes the chief role in a play. Leading note (music}. The seventh of the diatonic scale, which leads to the octave, only half a tone higher.
Is “leading lady” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.