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lead1

[leed]
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verb (used with object), led, lead·ing.
  1. to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort: to lead a group on a cross-country hike.
  2. to conduct by holding and guiding: to lead a horse by a rope.
  3. to influence or induce; cause: Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.
  4. to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring: You can lead her around to your point of view if you are persistent.
  5. to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course.
  6. (of a road, passage, etc.) to serve to bring (a person) to a place: The first street on the left will lead you to Andrews Place.
  7. to take or bring: The prisoners were led into the warden's office.
  8. to command or direct (an army or other large organization): He led the Allied forces during the war.
  9. to go at the head of or in advance of (a procession, list, body, etc.); proceed first in: The mayor will lead the parade.
  10. to be superior to; have the advantage over: The first baseman leads his teammates in runs batted in.
  11. to have top position or first place in: Iowa leads the nation in corn production.
  12. to have the directing or principal part in: The minister will now lead us in prayer. He led a peace movement.
  13. to act as leader of (an orchestra, band, etc.); conduct.
  14. to go through or pass (time, life, etc.): to lead a full life.
  15. Cards. to begin a round, game, etc., with (a card or suit specified).
  16. to aim and fire a firearm or cannon ahead of (a moving target) in order to allow for the travel of the target while the bullet or shell is reaching it.
  17. Football. to throw a lead pass to (an intended receiver): The quarterback led the left end.
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verb (used without object), led, lead·ing.
  1. to act as a guide; show the way: You lead and we'll follow.
  2. to afford passage to a place: That path leads directly to the house.
  3. to go first; be in advance: The band will lead and the troops will follow.
  4. to result in; tend toward (usually followed by to): The incident led to his resignation. One remark often leads to another.
  5. to take the directing or principal part.
  6. to take the offensive: The contender led with a right to the body.
  7. Cards. to make the first play.
  8. to be led or submit to being led, as a horse: A properly trained horse will lead easily.
  9. Baseball. (of a base runner) to leave a base before the delivery of a pitch in order to reach the next base more quickly (often followed by away).
  10. lead back, to play (a card) from a suit that one's partner led.
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noun
  1. the first or foremost place; position in advance of others: He took the lead in the race.
  2. the extent of such an advance position: He had a lead of four lengths.
  3. a person or thing that leads.
  4. a leash.
  5. a suggestion or piece of information that helps to direct or guide; tip; clue: I got a lead on a new job. The phone list provided some great sales leads.
  6. a guide or indication of a road, course, method, etc., to follow.
  7. precedence; example; leadership: They followed the lead of the capital in their fashions.
  8. Theater.
    1. the principal part in a play.
    2. the person who plays it.
  9. Cards.
    1. the act or right of playing first, as in a round.
    2. the card, suit, etc., so played.
  10. Journalism.
    1. a short summary serving as an introduction to a news story, article, or other copy.
    2. the main and often most important news story.
  11. Electricity. an often flexible and insulated single conductor, as a wire, used in connections between pieces of electric apparatus.
  12. the act of taking the offensive.
  13. Nautical.
    1. the direction of a rope, wire, or chain.
    2. Also called leader.any of various devices for guiding a running rope.
  14. Naval Architecture. the distance between the center of lateral resistance and the center of effort of a sailing ship, usually expressed decimally as a fraction of the water-line length.
  15. an open channel through a field of ice.
  16. Mining.
    1. a lode.
    2. an auriferous deposit in an old riverbed.
  17. the act of aiming a gun ahead of a moving target.
  18. the distance ahead of a moving target that a gun must be aimed in order to score a direct hit.
  19. Baseball. an act or instance of leading.
  20. Manège. (of a horse at a canter or gallop) the foreleg that consistently extends beyond and strikes the ground ahead of the other foreleg: The horse is cantering on the left lead.
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adjective
  1. most important; principal; leading; first: lead editorial; lead elephant; lead designer.
  2. Football. (of a forward pass) thrown ahead of the intended receiver so as to allow him to catch it while running.
  3. Baseball. (of a base runner) nearest to scoring: They forced the lead runner at third base on an attempted sacrifice.
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Verb Phrases
  1. lead off,
    1. to take the initiative; begin.
    2. Baseball.to be the first player in the batting order or the first batter in an inning.
  2. lead on,
    1. to induce to follow an unwise course of action; mislead.
    2. to cause or encourage to believe something that is not true.
  3. lead out,
    1. to make a beginning.
    2. to escort a partner to begin a dance: He led her out and they began a rumba.
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Idioms
  1. lead someone a chase/dance, to cause someone difficulty by forcing to do irksome or unnecessary things.
  2. lead the way. way1(def 34).
  3. lead up to,
    1. to prepare the way for.
    2. to approach (a subject, disclosure, etc.) gradually or evasively: I could tell by her allusions that she was leading up to something.
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Origin of lead1

before 900; Middle English leden, Old English lǣdan (causative of līthan to go, travel); cognate with Dutch leiden, German leiten, Old Norse leitha

Synonyms

See more synonyms for lead on Thesaurus.com
1. accompany, precede. 3. persuade, convince. 10. excel, outstrip, surpass. 28. head, vanguard.

Synonym study

1. See guide.

Antonyms

1. follow.

lead2

[led]
noun
  1. Chemistry. a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal, sometimes found in its natural state but usually combined as a sulfide, especially in galena. Symbol: Pb; atomic weight: 207.19; atomic number: 82; specific gravity: 11.34 at 20°C.
  2. something made of this metal or of one of its alloys.
  3. a plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings.
  4. bullets collectively; shot.
  5. black lead or graphite.
  6. a small stick of graphite, as used in pencils.
  7. Also leading. Printing. a thin strip of type metal or brass less than type-high, used for increasing the space between lines of type.
  8. a grooved bar of lead or came in which sections of glass are set, as in stained-glass windows.
  9. leads, British. a roof, especially one that is shallow or flat, covered with lead.
  10. white lead.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to cover, line, weight, treat, or impregnate with lead or one of its compounds.
  2. Printing. to insert leads between the lines of.
  3. to fix (window glass) in position with leads.
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adjective
  1. made of or containing lead: a lead pipe; a lead compound.
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Idioms
  1. get the lead out, Slang. to move or work faster; hurry up.
  2. heave the lead, Nautical. to take a sounding with a lead.
  3. go over like a lead balloon, Slang. to fail to arouse interest, enthusiasm, or support.
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Origin of lead2

before 900; Middle English lede, Old English lēad; cognate with Dutch lood, Old Frisian lād lead, German Lot plummet
Related formslead·less, adjective
Can be confusedlead led

Synonyms

See more synonyms for lead on Thesaurus.com
3. weight, plumb.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lead

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • And the only one she never forgets is, 'When in doubt, lead your highest check.'

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • We can only crawl along, having to walk and lead the horses, or at least drag them.

  • Passively, he let Harry take him by the arm, and lead him on.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • Surely those are not the steps that lead down toward the bath?

  • It was incumbent upon Mr. Gladstone to lead the opposition to this motion.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

British Dictionary definitions for lead

lead1

verb leads, leading or led (lɛd)
  1. to show the way to (an individual or a group) by going with or aheadlead the party into the garden
  2. to guide or be guided by holding, pulling, etche led the horse by its reins
  3. (tr) to cause to act, feel, think, or behave in a certain way; induce; influencehe led me to believe that he would go
  4. (tr) to phrase a question to (a witness) that tends to suggest the desired answer
  5. (when intr, foll by to) (of a road, route, etc) to serve as the means of reaching a place
  6. (tr) to go ahead so as to indicate (esp in the phrase lead the way)
  7. to guide, control, or directto lead an army
  8. (tr) to direct the course of or conduct (water, a rope or wire, etc) along or as if along a channel
  9. to initiate the action of (something); have the principal part in (something)to lead a discussion
  10. to go at the head of or have the top position in (something)he leads his class in geography
  11. (intr foll by with) to have as the first or principal itemthe newspaper led with the royal birth
  12. music
    1. Britishto play first violin in (an orchestra)
    2. (intr)(of an instrument or voice) to be assigned an important entry in a piece of music
  13. to direct and guide (one's partner) in a dance
  14. (tr)
    1. to pass or spendI lead a miserable life
    2. to cause to pass a life of a particular kindto lead a person a dog's life
  15. (intr foll by to) to tend (to) or result (in)this will only lead to misery
  16. to initiate a round of cards by putting down (the first card) or to have the right to do thisshe led a diamond
  17. (tr) to aim at a point in front of (a moving target) in shooting, etc, in order to allow for the time of flight
  18. (intr) boxing to make an offensive blow, esp as one's habitual attacking punchsouthpaws lead with their right
  19. lead astray to mislead so as to cause error or wrongdoing
  20. lead by the nose See nose (def. 12)
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noun
    1. the first, foremost, or most prominent place
    2. (as modifier)lead singer
  2. example, precedence, or leadershipthe class followed the teacher's lead
  3. an advance or advantage held over othersthe runner had a lead of twenty yards
  4. anything that guides or directs; indication; clue
  5. another name for leash
  6. the act or prerogative of playing the first card in a round of cards or the card so played
  7. the principal role in a play, film, etc, or the person playing such a role
    1. the principal news story in a newspaperthe scandal was the lead in the papers
    2. the opening paragraph of a news story
    3. (as modifier)lead story
  9. music an important entry assigned to one part usually at the beginning of a movement or section
  10. a wire, cable, or other conductor for making an electrical connection
  11. boxing
    1. one's habitual attacking punch
    2. a blow made with this
  12. nautical the direction in which a rope runs
  13. a deposit of metal or ore; lode
  14. the firing of a gun, missile, etc, ahead of a moving target to correct for the time of flight of the projectile
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See also lead off, lead on, lead up to

Word Origin

Old English lǣdan; related to līthan to travel, Old High German līdan to go

lead2

noun
  1. a heavy toxic bluish-white metallic element that is highly malleable: occurs principally as galena and used in alloys, accumulators, cable sheaths, paints, and as a radiation shield. Symbol: Pb; atomic no: 82; atomic wt: 207.2; valency: 2 or 4; relative density: 11.35; melting pt: 327.502°C; boiling pt: 1750°CRelated adjectives: plumbic, plumbeous, plumbous
  2. a lead weight suspended on a line used to take soundings of the depth of water
  3. swing the lead to malinger or make up excuses
  4. lead weights or shot, as used in cartridges, fishing lines, etc
  5. a thin grooved strip of lead for holding small panes of glass or pieces of stained glass
  6. (plural)
    1. thin sheets or strips of lead used as a roof covering
    2. a flat or low-pitched roof covered with such sheets
  7. printing a thin strip of type metal used for spacing between lines of hot-metal typeCompare reglet (def. 2)
    1. graphite or a mixture containing graphite, clay, etc, used for drawing
    2. a thin stick of this material, esp the core of a pencil
  9. (modifier) of, consisting of, relating to, or containing lead
  10. go down like a lead balloon See balloon (def. 9)
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verb (tr)
  1. to fill or treat with lead
  2. to surround, cover, or secure with lead or leads
  3. printing to space (type) by use of leads
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Derived Formsleadless, adjectiveleady, adjective

Word Origin

Old English; related to Dutch lood, German Lot
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

Word Origin and History for lead

v.1

"to guide," Old English lædan "cause to go with one, lead, guide, conduct, carry; sprout forth; bring forth, pass (one's life)," causative of liðan "to travel," from West Germanic *laidjan (cf. Old Saxon lithan, Old Norse liða "to go," Old High German ga-lidan "to travel," Gothic ga-leiþan "to go"), from PIE *leit- "to go forth."

Meaning "to be in first place" is from late 14c. Sense in card playing is from 1670s. Related: Led; leading. Lead-off "commencement, beginning" attested from 1879; lead-in "introduction, opening" is from 1928.

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n.1

heavy metal, Old English lead, from West Germanic *loudhom (cf. Old Frisian lad, Middle Dutch loot, Dutch lood "lead," German Lot "weight, plummet"). The name and the skill in using the metal seem to have been borrowed from the Celts (cf. Old Irish luaide), probably from PIE root *plou(d)- "to flow."

Figurative of heaviness since at least early 14c. Black lead was an old name for "graphite," hence lead pencil (1680s) and the colloquial figurative phrase to have lead in one's pencil "be possessed of (especially male sexual) vigor," attested by 1902. Lead balloon "a failure," American English slang, attested by 1957 (as a type of something heavy that can be kept up only with effort, from 1904). Lead-footed "slow" is from 1896; opposite sense of "fast" emerged 1940s in trucker's jargon, from notion of a foot heavy on the gas pedal.

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n.2

c.1300, "action of leading," from lead (v.1). Meaning "the front or leading place" is from 1560s. Johnson stigmatized it as "a low, despicable word." Sense in card-playing is from 1742; in theater, from 1831; in journalism, from 1912; in jazz bands, from 1934.

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v.2

early 15c., "to make of lead," from lead (n.1). Meaning "to cover with lead" is from mid-15c. Related: Leaded (early 13c.); leading.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
lead in Science

lead

[lĕd]
Pb
  1. A soft, ductile, heavy, bluish-gray metallic element that is extracted chiefly from galena. It is very durable and resistant to corrosion and is a poor conductor of electricity. Lead is used to make radiation shielding and containers for corrosive substances. It was once commonly used in pipes, solder, roofing, paint, and antiknock compounds in gasoline, but its use in these products has been curtailed because of its toxicity. Atomic number 82; atomic weight 207.2; melting point 327.5°C; boiling point 1,744°C; specific gravity 11.35; valence 2, 4. See Periodic Table. See Note at element.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with lead

lead

In addition to the idioms beginning with lead

  • lead a chase
  • lead a dog's life
  • lead a double life
  • lead by the nose
  • lead down the garden path
  • leading light
  • leading question
  • lead off
  • lead on
  • lead one to
  • lead the way
  • lead up the garden path
  • lead up to
  • lead with one's chin

also see:

  • all roads lead to Rome
  • blind leading the blind
  • get the lead out of
  • go over (like a lead balloon)
  • put lead in one's pencil
  • you can lead a horse to water
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.