leading light

noun — 2 senses

leading light

noun

1

Idiomatic An acclaimed expert, one of the foremost experts, a luminary.

Stephen Hawking is a leading light in physics, people say he's the greatest physicist since Einstein.

2

Nautical, Transport A light that helps to guide vessels into a port.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.