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lead on

British  
/ liːd /

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to lure or entice, esp into trouble or wrongdoing

"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
lead on Idioms  

  1. Entice someone into proceeding, mislead; also, deceive someone, especially pretending romantic interest. For example, He's leading her on to reveal more of her family history, or She's just leading him on; she has a serious boyfriend at home. [Late 1500s]

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.

Puso Dithejane scored the lone goal of the first half for Galaxy and Keita completed a sweeping move covering the length of the pitch to double the lead on 84 minutes.

From Barron's

“To this day, we live some of that, and our counselors are taking the lead on how we support learning and are being very influential in how that affects classrooms.”

From Los Angeles Times

It was about this same time last season the Angels were in first place in the American League West with an 18-10 record and a 11/2-game lead on the Houston Astros.

From Los Angeles Times

“California is leading on this issue,” said Ms. Lee, who is running for the U.S.

From New York Times

Fish and Wildlife Service took the lead on the investigation.

From Seattle Times

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.