lead

to influence or induce; cause: Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.

to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring: You can lead her around to your point of view if you are persistent.

to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course.

(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.

to take or bring: The prisoners were led into the warden's office.

to command or direct (an army or other large organization): He led the Allied forces during the war.

to go at the head of or in advance of (a procession, list, body, etc.); proceed first in: The mayor will lead the parade.

to be superior to; have the advantage over: The first baseman leads his teammates in runs batted in.

to have top position or first place in: Iowa leads the nation in corn production.

to have the directing or principal part in: The minister will now lead us in prayer. He led a peace movement.

to act as leader of (an orchestra, band, etc.); conduct.

to go through or pass (time, life, etc.): to lead a full life.

Cards. to begin a round, game, etc., with (a card or suit specified).

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.

Football. to throw a lead pass to (an intended receiver): The quarterback led the left end.

to go first; be in advance: The band will lead and the troops will follow.

to result in; tend toward (usually followed by to): The incident led to his resignation. One remark often leads to another.

to take the directing or principal part.

to take the offensive: The contender led with a right to the body.

Cards. to make the first play.

to be led or submit to being led, as a horse: A properly trained horse will lead easily.

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).

lead back, to play (a card) from a suit that one's partner led.

a person or thing that leads.

a leash.

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.

a guide or indication of a road, course, method, etc., to follow.

precedence; example; leadership: They followed the lead of the capital in their fashions.

Theater.

Cards.

Journalism. lede.

Electricity. an often flexible and insulated single conductor, as a wire, used in connections between pieces of electric apparatus.

the act of taking the offensive.

Nautical.

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.

an open channel through a field of ice.

Mining.

the act of aiming a gun ahead of a moving target.

the distance ahead of a moving target that a gun must be aimed in order to score a direct hit.

Baseball. an act or instance of leading.

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.

a plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings.

bullets collectively; shot.

black lead or graphite.

a small stick of graphite, as used in pencils.

Also leading. Printing. a thin strip of type metal or brass less than type-high, used for increasing the space between lines of type.

a grooved bar of lead or came in which sections of glass are set, as in stained-glass windows.

leads, British. a roof, especially one that is shallow or flat, covered with lead.

white lead.

to fix (window glass) in position with leads.

(tr) to cause to act, feel, think, or behave in a certain way; induce; influence: he led me to believe that he would go

(tr) to phrase a question to (a witness) that tends to suggest the desired answer

(when intr, foll by to) (of a road, route, etc) to serve as the means of reaching a place

(tr) to go ahead so as to indicate (esp in the phrase lead the way)

to guide, control, or direct: to lead an army

(tr) to direct the course of or conduct (water, a rope or wire, etc) along or as if along a channel

to initiate the action of (something); have the principal part in (something): to lead a discussion

to go at the head of or have the top position in (something): he leads his class in geography

(intr foll by with) to have as the first or principal item: the newspaper led with the royal birth

music

to direct and guide (one's partner) in a dance

(tr)

(intr foll by to) to tend (to) or result (in): this will only lead to misery

to initiate a round of cards by putting down (the first card) or to have the right to do this: she led a diamond

(tr) to aim at a point in front of (a moving target) in shooting, etc, in order to allow for the time of flight

(intr) boxing to make an offensive blow, esp as one's habitual attacking punch: southpaws lead with their right

lead astray to mislead so as to cause error or wrongdoing

lead by the nose See nose (def. 12)

an advance or advantage held over others: the runner had a lead of twenty yards

anything that guides or directs; indication; clue

another name for leash

the act or prerogative of playing the first card in a round of cards or the card so played

the principal role in a play, film, etc, or the person playing such a role

music an important entry assigned to one part usually at the beginning of a movement or section

a wire, cable, or other conductor for making an electrical connection

boxing

nautical the direction in which a rope runs

a deposit of metal or ore; lode

the firing of a gun, missile, etc, ahead of a moving target to correct for the time of flight of the projectile

swing the lead to malinger or make up excuses

lead weights or shot, as used in cartridges, fishing lines, etc

a thin grooved strip of lead for holding small panes of glass or pieces of stained glass

(plural)

printing a thin strip of type metal used for spacing between lines of hot-metal type: Compare reglet (def. 2)

(modifier) of, consisting of, relating to, or containing lead

go down like a lead balloon See balloon (def. 9)

printing to space (type) by use of leads