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black lead

American

[led] / lɛd /

noun

Mineralogy.

graphite; plumbago.

black lead British

/ lɛd /

noun

another name for graphite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of black lead

First recorded in 1575–85

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.

Former "Bachelorette" Rachel Lindsay, the only black lead the show has had, also spoke out.

From Fox News • May 18, 2020

But we do, finally, have a black lead.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2019

The Times caught up with Dillard and Clemons to discuss shooting horror on the beach, centering a black lead in a survival story and what it’s like to carry a movie with limited dialogue.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2019

Underneath their roots was a strange, shiny black substance that was initially dubbed "black lead".

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2019

The bottom was then covered over with black lead, and rubbed with the brushes till it shone like a newly-polished stove.

From In School and Out or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. by Optic, Oliver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023