led
verb
simple past tense and past participle of lead.
led
1 American
[led]
/ lɛd /
verb
LED
2
American
[el-ee-dee, led]
/ ˈɛlˌiˈdi, lɛd /
noun
LED
1
British
abbreviation
led
2
British
/ lɛd /
verb
LED
Scientific
/ ĕl′ē-dē′,lĕd /
-
Short for light-emitting diode. An electronic semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. They are considerably more efficient than incandescent bulbs, and rarely burn out. LEDs are used in many applications such as flat-screen video displays, and increasingly as general sources of light.
-
See also semiconductor laser
Other Word Forms
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:
Notwithstanding "serious failures" in the process that led to the killings, "the decisions of the commanders did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct," the IDF said.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Subsequent investigations, which involved countries in Europe and elsewhere, led to the arrest of the suspect in Romania, who is being investigated by German prosecutors for allegedly preparing attacks and suspected espionage.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The inflation task force is led by Greg Mankiw, Thomas Sargent and William White, and could guide how the Fed fights rising prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"This led us to ask whether butyrate might act through IECs to regulate intestinal immunity."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Your uncle led me here under false pretenses. Besides, the other line’s shorter. Meet me by where the band is going to play. Bring chairs.”
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Watch a century-old lighting company recreate a neon color that was lost as businesses switched to LED.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The new work pushes that concept further by replacing the LED with sunlight.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
In the meantime, the tower's 400,000-euro outdoor LED screen has been turned off for months after online memes re-imagined it as the baleful eye of Sauron's fortress of Barad-dur from "The Lord of the Rings".
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Moxi – which shuttles medical supplies around hospitals – might respond by displaying its heart-shaped LED eyes and a beep beep greeting of its own.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Lydia swept the ground using the LED from her cell phone.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
