led
verb
simple past tense and past participle of lead.
led
1 American
[led]
/ lɛd /
verb
LED
2
American
[el-ee-dee, led]
/ ˈɛlˌiˈdi, lɛd /
noun
LED
1
British
abbreviation
led
2
British
/ lɛd /
verb
LED
Scientific
/ ĕl′ē-dē′,lĕd /
-
Short for light-emitting diode. An electronic semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. They are considerably more efficient than incandescent bulbs, and rarely burn out. LEDs are used in many applications such as flat-screen video displays, and increasingly as general sources of light.
-
See also semiconductor laser
Other Word Forms
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.
See Examples For:
That’s what led to the settlement and the departure of the 11 ranch families and their workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
After first leading City to the title in 2017-18, Guardiola led a successful defence four times before leaving the club this summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The interconnectedness of the small town has led to other complications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Two studies led by Ludwig Princeton's Jenna AbuSalim and Director Joshua Rabinowitz offer new insight into that process.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Duane, led by his curiosity, stepped closer without even realizing it.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Watch a century-old lighting company recreate a neon color that was lost as businesses switched to LED.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
In those experiments, they used an LED, an incoherent light source, to produce polarization-entangled photons.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
The first phase of construction will include installing the massive LED screen planned to wrap around the base of the complex at 11th, Figueroa and 12th streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
In the meantime, the tower's 400,000-euro outdoor LED screen has been turned off for months after online memes re-imagined it as the baleful eye of Sauron's fortress of Barad-dur from "The Lord of the Rings".
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Lydia swept the ground using the LED from her cell phone.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
