lead time
Americannoun
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lead times
plural
noun
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manufacturing the time between the design of a product and its production
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commerce the time from the placing of an order to the delivery of the goods
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lead time
An Americanism dating back to 1940–45
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.
A humanoid maker from Shenzhen, one of China’s regional manufacturing zones, will generally have a single-digit-day lead time, or the time it takes between starting and finishing production, Cardenas told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Though it noted that expanding production capacities requires "significant lead time."
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
“They’ve had a multiyear lead time on this and I’m just going to try to catch up.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
He says he’s wary about his Somali clients getting a fair hearing, given the volume of cases that have been rescheduled and the abbreviated lead time for hearings.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026
I estimate the lead time on the hoverplanes and let my arrow fly.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
