An informal honorific title applied to the President of the United States, reflecting the country's dominant role in Western alliances and democratic politics since World War II. Typically used in political commentary, journalism, and international discourse to convey the symbolic weight of the presidency. The phrase became common during the Cold War when the US positioned itself as the leader of democratic nations against Soviet communism. In the post-Cold War era it's used more loosely, often with a degree of irony or critique depending on the speaker's political stance.
Whatever you think of his policies, for the next four years he'll be called the leader of the free world.
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(US) The president of the United States.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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