lede
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of lede
First recorded in 1950–55; altered spelling of lead 1 ( def. ) (in the journalism sense “short introductory summary”), used in the printing trades to distinguish it from the homograph lead 2 ( def. ) (in the sense “thin strip of type metal for increasing the space between lines of type”)
Explanation
In news reporting, the lede is the main idea in the first few lines of a story. Most writers work hard to make the lede interesting and accurate. While this word is sometimes spelled lead, and either way rhymes with reed, it's especially common in American journalism to use lede. The phrase "to bury the lede" means to unwittingly neglect to emphasize the very most important part of the story — a no-no in journalism. The unusual spelling comes from an attempt to distinguish the word from the "metal" meaning of lead, which rhymes with bed.
Vocabulary lists containing lede
Academic and Literary Vocabulary, Unit 2
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Ballad and Dagger
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Shout
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“If you were Alan Greenspan,” I wrote in the draft’s lede, “wouldn’t you be worried about the soaring stock market?”
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
You can’t accuse those who title “NOVA” episodes of burying the lede with “Ancient Desert Death Trap.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025
I have always wanted to write a headline or lede like that one.
From Salon • Feb. 17, 2023
Dylan can write what journalists call a great lede: a first sentence that detonates like a hand grenade.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2022
The makyng of the rof wt tymber and cariage and workmanship ixclxv li. xviij s. iij d. qa, lede castyng, jynyng, leyyng sawdir with diuers cariage vcxxxv li. x s. x d.
From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Power, Eileen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.