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Synonyms

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.

See Examples For:

Matteliano Simeoni, Amazon’s lead on restaurant technology, travels around the country to help identify how businesses can use AWS’s different services.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2026

Nvidia’s chips lead on tokens per watt, a measure of how efficiently the chips can utilize electricity to run AI workloads.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026

El-Sayed held a nearly six-point lead on Rogers when networks called the race.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

But the Vikings trimmed the lead on Tyler Thornton’s 33-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

“Following a lead on ... you know, my family.”

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

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