Pronunciations (6)
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/ˈlɛd/
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[ˈlɛd]
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/ˈliːd/
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[ˈlɪi̯d]
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liːd
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lɛd
Noun
A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82.
Usage- Uncountable
- Synonyms
- mul:Pbplumbum
A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea or to estimate velocity in knots.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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Although I could distinctly see the bottom, yet, heaving the lead, I found the ship in fifteen fathoms.
A thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
Vertical space in advance of a row or between rows of text. Also known as leading.
Usage- Uncountable
- Examples
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This copy has too much lead; I prefer less space between the lines.
Sheets or plates of lead used as a covering for roofs.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
A roof covered with lead sheets or terne plates.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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I would have the tower two stories, and goodly leads upon the top.
More examples (1)
These rooms were on a level with the apartments of our friends Bows and Costigan next door at No. 4; and by reaching over the communicating leads, Grady could command the mignonette-box which bloomed in Bows’s window.
A thin cylinder of graphite used in pencils.
Usage- Countable
- Synonyms
Bullets; ammunition.
Usage- Countable
- Slang
- Uncountable
- Examples
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They pumped him full of lead.
All my life I want money and power Respect my mind or die from lead shower
X-ray protective clothing lined with lead.
Usage- Countable
- in-plural
- Uncountable
- Examples
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You must remember to wear your leads.
Verb
To cover, fill, or affect with lead.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.
To place leads between the lines of.
Usage- Historical
- Transitive
- Examples
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to lead a page
leaded matter
Verb
To guide or conduct. To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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a father leads a child
a jockey leads a horse with a halter
More examples (5)
a dog leads a blind man
If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall down in the ditch.
They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill.
In thy right hand lead with thee / The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.
As he was going home to the palace, he met an old woman leading a golden goose.
To guide or conduct. To guide or conduct in a certain course, or to a certain place or end, by making the way known; to show the way, especially by going with or going in advance of; to guide somebody somewhere or to bring somebody somewhere by means of instructions.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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The guide was able to lead the tourists through the jungle safely.
The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way.
More examples (3)
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
This thought might lead me through the world’s vain mask. Content, though blind, had I no better guide.
I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
To guide or conduct. To direct; to counsel; to instruct.
Usage- Figurative
- Transitive
- Examples
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A good teacher should lead their students to the right answer.
To guide or conduct. To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; to command, especially a military or business unit.
Usage- Transitive
- Synonyms
- Examples
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to lead a political party
to lead the search team
More examples (1)
Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or possess places.
To guide or conduct. To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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to lead someone to a righteous cause
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
More examples (2)
Silly women, laden with sins, led away by divers lusts.
He was driven by the necessities of the times, more than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of actions.
To guide or conduct. To influence towards a belief, a conclusion, etc.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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The evidence leads me to believe he is guilty.
To guide or conduct, as by accompanying, going before, showing, influencing, directing with authority, etc.; to have precedence or preeminence; to be first or chief; — used in most of the senses of the transitive verb.
Usage- Intransitive
To begin, to be ahead. To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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the big sloop led the fleet of yachts; the Guards led the attack; Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages
1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way.
More examples (2)
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
“Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
To begin, to be ahead. To proceed in front of others; to go first.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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The standard-bearers led and the rest of the marchers followed.
To begin, to be ahead. To be more advanced in technology or business than others.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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It leads in the information technology sector.
To begin, to be ahead. To begin a game, round, or trick, with
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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to lead trumps
He led the ace of spades.
To begin, to be ahead. To be ahead of others, e.g., in a race.
Usage- Intransitive
To begin, to be ahead. To have the highest interim score in a game.
Usage- Intransitive
To begin, to be ahead. To step off base and move towards the next base.
- Examples
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The batter always leads off base.
To begin, to be ahead. To aim in front of a moving target, in order that the shot may hit the target as it passes.
To begin, to be ahead. To lead climb.
Usage- Transitive
To tend or reach in a certain spatial direction, or to a certain place.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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the path leads to the mill
The mountain-foot that leads towards Mantua.
To be a cause of.
Usage- Intransitive
- Synonyms
- Examples
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gambling leads to other vices
More examples (2)
Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.
All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism. That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition. It is therefore dealing with pollution in two ways—suppression and mitigation.
To live or experience (a particular way of life).
Usage- Transitive
- usually
- with "life"
- Examples
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That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.
Nor thou with shadow'd hint confuse / A life that leads melodious days.
More examples (1)
Follow me now and you will not regret / Leaving the life you led before we met. / You are the first to have this love of mine, / Forever with me till the end of time.
Used in phrasal verbs: lead off, lead on, lead out, lead to (“be the cause of, bring about”), lead up, lead up to.
Noun
The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction, course
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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to take the lead
to be under the lead of another
More examples (1)
At the time I speak of, and having a momentary lead, […] I am sure I did my country important service.
Precedence; advance position; also, the measure of precedence; the state of being ahead in a race; the highest score in an incomplete game.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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the white horse had the lead.
to be in the lead
More examples (3)
She lost the lead.
Smith managed to extend her lead over the second place to half a second.
Blackburn then regained the lead with a simplest of set-piece goals
An insulated metallic wire for electrical devices and equipment.
Usage- UK usage
- Countable
The situation where a runner steps away from a base while waiting for the pitch to be thrown.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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The runner took his lead from first.
The act or right of playing first in a game or round; the card suit, or piece, so played
Usage- Uncountable
- Examples
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your partner has the lead
The main role in a play or film; the lead role.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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"You make moving pictures. In jungles and places." "That's me. And I've picked you for the lead in my next picture."
The actor who plays the main role; lead actor.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The person in charge of a project or a work shift etc.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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John is the development lead on this software product.
A channel of open water in an ice field.
Usage- Countable
A lode.
Usage- Countable
The course of a rope from end to end.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
A rope, leather strap, or similar device with which to lead an animal; a leash
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
In a steam engine, the width of port opening which is uncovered by the valve, for the admission or release of steam, at the instant when the piston is at end of its stroke.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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Usage note: When used alone it means outside lead, or lead for the admission of steam. Inside lead refers to the release or exhaust.
The distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The action of a tooth, such as a tooth of a wheel, in impelling another tooth or a pallet.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
Hypothesis that has not been pursued
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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The investigation stalled when all leads turned out to be dead ends.
Information obtained by a detective or police officer that allows him or her to discover further details about a crime or incident.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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The police have a couple of leads they will follow to solve the case.
Potential opportunity for a sale or transaction, a potential customer.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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Joe is a great addition to our sales team, he has numerous leads in the paper industry.
Information obtained by a news reporter about an issue or subject that allows him or her to discover more details.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The player who throws the first two rocks for a team.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The introductory paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper, or a news or other type of article. (Sometimes spelled as lede for this usage to avoid ambiguity.)
Usage- US usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Synonyms
An important news story that appears on the front page of a newspaper or at the beginning of a news broadcast
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The axial distance a screw thread travels in one revolution. It is equal to the pitch times the number of starts.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
In a barbershop quartet, the person who sings the melody, usually the second tenor.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The announcement by one voice part of a theme to be repeated by the other parts.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
A mark or a short passage in one voice part, as of a canon, serving as a cue for the entrance of others.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
A primary synth, often composed of square, sawtooth, triangle or sine waveforms.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The excess above a right angle in the angle between two consecutive cranks, as of a compound engine, on the same shaft.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The angle between the line joining the brushes of a continuous-current dynamo and the diameter symmetrical between the poles.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The advance of the current phase in an alternating circuit beyond that of the electromotive force producing it.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
Adjective
Foremost.
Usage- not-comparable
- Examples
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The contestants are all tied; no one has the lead position.
More examples (1)
For the first time ever, the senior architect and lead developer for a key enterprise system on NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover mission shares the secrets to one of the most difficult technology tasks […]
Main, principal, primary, first, chief, foremost.
Usage- not-comparable
- Examples
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the lead guitarist in band
the lead developer on a software project
More examples (1)
Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's ex-prime minister, has missed a verdict in a negligence trial that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to say it will issue an arrest warrant fearing she is a flight risk, according to the lead judge in the case.
an advantage held by a competitor in a race
- Examples
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he took the lead at the last turn
evidence pointing to a possible solution
- Examples
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the police are following a promising lead
the trail led straight to the perpetrator
a position of being the initiator of something and an example that others will follow (especially in the phrase ‘take the lead’)
- Broader terms
- Examples
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he takes the lead in any group
we were just waiting for someone to take the lead
More examples (1)
they didn't follow our lead
the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)
- Broader terms
the introductory section of a story
- Broader terms
- Examples
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it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter
(sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning
- Antonyms
- Broader terms
an actor who plays a principal role
- Broader terms
(baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base
- Examples
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he took a long lead off first
an indication of potential opportunity
- Broader terms
- Examples
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he got a tip on the stock market
a good lead for a job
a news story of major importance
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
the timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
- Broader terms
thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing
- Synonyms
a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire
- Broader terms
- Examples
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it was a tangle of jumper cables and clip leads
the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge
- Examples
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the lead was in the dummy
a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element; bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes readily to dull grey
- Synonyms
- Examples
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the children were playing with lead soldiers
mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
Verb
take somebody somewhere
- Examples
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we led him to our chief
can you take me to the main entrance?
More examples (1)
He conducted us to the palace
produce as a result or residue
- Broader terms
- Examples
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The water left a mark on the silk dress
Her blood left a stain on the napkin
tend to or result in
- Examples
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This remark led to further arguments among the guests
travel in front of; go in advance of others
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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The procession was headed by John
cause to undertake a certain action
- Examples
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Her greed led her to forge the checks
stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
- Broader terms
- Examples
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Service runs all the way to Cranbury
His knowledge doesn't go very far
More examples (2)
My memory extends back to my fourth year of life
The facts extend beyond a consideration of her personal assets
be in charge of
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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Who is heading this project?
be ahead of others; be the first
- Synonyms
- Examples
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she topped her class every year
be conducive to
- Synonyms
- Examples
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The use of computers in the classroom led to better writing
lead, as in the performance of a composition
- Examples
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conduct an orchestra
Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for years
lead, extend, or afford access
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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This door goes to the basement
The road runs South
move ahead (of others) in time or space
- Synonyms
cause something to pass or lead somewhere
- Synonyms
- Examples
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Run the wire behind the cabinet
preside over
- Examples
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John moderated the discussion