lede
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of lede
First recorded in 1950–55; altered spelling of lead 1 ( def. ) (in the journalism sense “short introductory summary”), used in the printing trades to distinguish it from the homograph lead 2 ( def. ) (in the sense “thin strip of type metal for increasing the space between lines of type”)
Explanation
In news reporting, the lede is the main idea in the first few lines of a story. Most writers work hard to make the lede interesting and accurate. While this word is sometimes spelled lead, and either way rhymes with reed, it's especially common in American journalism to use lede. The phrase "to bury the lede" means to unwittingly neglect to emphasize the very most important part of the story — a no-no in journalism. The unusual spelling comes from an attempt to distinguish the word from the "metal" meaning of lead, which rhymes with bed.
Vocabulary lists containing lede
Academic and Literary Vocabulary, Unit 2
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Ballad and Dagger
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Shout
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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.
Mayor Karen Bass’ office did not respond to questions about whether she met with Lede, what direction its publicists gave city officials and what role the company had in preparing or editing the after-action report.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
Majors was later dropped by his management company Entertainment 360 and his publicists at the Lede Company.
From Salon • Dec. 8, 2023
The Lede AI system used by Gannett took scoring recaps of high school games and produced articles — with unique verbiage that turned off some readers.
From Washington Times • Aug. 31, 2023
National newspaper publisher Gannett has paused the use of Lede AI to write high school sports content for its papers.
From Washington Times • Aug. 31, 2023
Romenal 5. ships, in euery ship 21. men, and a Garcion: To it perteine, as members thereof, Promhell, Lede, Eastwestone, Dengemareys, olde Rumney.
From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 01 by Hakluyt, Richard
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.
