Meaning & use
leading company
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Meanings
nouncountable
a business that is one of the most important or successful in its industry or market
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a leading company' or 'leading companies'. Often followed by 'in' plus an area.
Patterns
- a leading company in something
- one of the leading companies
- the world's leading company
She works for a leading company in the renewable energy sector.
The country is home to several leading companies in car manufacturing.
They want to become a leading company in online education.
nouncountable
a firm that is ahead of others in a particular activity, such as innovation or sales
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'the' when pointing to a specific firm already mentioned.
Patterns
- the leading company in something
- a leading company for something
For years, it was the leading company in mobile phone design.
The report named the leading company for customer satisfaction.
Word forms
| plural | leading companies |
|---|
Common combinations
- a leading company in
- She joined a leading company in the tech industry.
- one of the leading companies
- It is one of the leading companies in renewable energy.
- become a leading company
- The startup hopes to become a leading company within five years.
- a leading company for
- They are a leading company for online payment solutions.
- the world's leading company
- The brand is the world's leading company in luxury watches.
Synonyms and how they differ
- market leader
- Use when you mean the company with the largest share of sales in a market; 'leading company' is more general and can refer to importance or reputation, not just sales.
- top company
- More informal and often used in everyday speech; 'leading company' sounds more formal and is common in business reports.
- major player
- Emphasizes influence and presence in a market; 'leading company' suggests being at the front, not just being important.
Word family
- lead verb
- to be in charge of a group or to be ahead in a competition or market
- leader noun
- a person or company that is ahead of others
- leadership noun
- the position of being a leader or the quality of leading others
Commonly confused: leading company or leading question?
leading company vs leading question
A 'leading question' is a question that suggests the answer you want; it is not related to companies.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'leading company' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 is correct because 'leading company' is a noun phrase meaning a top firm, and 'works for' fits a company. Option 0 confuses it with a person's role ('leading' as an adjective for a person). Option 2 confuses it with 'leading question'. Option 3 uses it as a verb, which is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “leading company”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.