to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort: to lead a group on a cross-country hike.
to conduct by holding and guiding: to lead a horse by a rope.
to influence or induce; cause: Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.
to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring: You can lead her around to your point of view if you are persistent.
to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course.
(of a road, passage, etc.) to serve to bring (a person) to a place: The first street on the left will lead you to Andrews Place.
to take or bring: The prisoners were led into the warden's office.
to command or direct (an army or other large organization): He led the Allied forces during the war.
to go at the head of or in advance of (a procession, list, body, etc.); proceed first in: The mayor will lead the parade.
to be superior to; have the advantage over: The first baseman leads his teammates in runs batted in.
to have top position or first place in: Iowa leads the nation in corn production.
to have the directing or principal part in: The minister will now lead us in prayer. He led a peace movement.
to act as leader of (an orchestra, band, etc.); conduct.
to go through or pass (time, life, etc.): to lead a full life.
Cards. to begin a round, game, etc., with (a card or suit specified).
to aim and fire a firearm or cannon ahead of (a moving target) in order to allow for the travel of the target while the bullet or shell is reaching it.
Football. to throw a lead pass to (an intended receiver): The quarterback led the left end.
verb (used without object),led,lead·ing.
to act as a guide; show the way: You lead and we'll follow.
to afford passage to a place: That path leads directly to the house.
to go first; be in advance: The band will lead and the troops will follow.
to result in; tend toward (usually followed by to): The incident led to his resignation. One remark often leads to another.
to take the directing or principal part.
to take the offensive: The contender led with a right to the body.
Cards. to make the first play.
to be led or submit to being led, as a horse: A properly trained horse will lead easily.
Baseball. (of a base runner) to leave a base before the delivery of a pitch in order to reach the next base more quickly (often followed by away).
lead back,to play (a card) from a suit that one's partner led.
noun
the first or foremost place; position in advance of others: He took the lead in the race.
the extent of such an advance position: He had a lead of four lengths.
a person or thing that leads.
a leash.
a suggestion or piece of information that helps to direct or guide; tip; clue: I got a lead on a new job. The phone list provided some great sales leads.
a guide or indication of a road, course, method, etc., to follow.
precedence; example; leadership: They followed the lead of the capital in their fashions.
Theater.
the principal part in a play.
the person who plays it.
Cards.
the act or right of playing first, as in a round.
the card, suit, etc., so played.
Journalism.
a short summary serving as an introduction to a news story, article, or other copy.
the main and often most important news story.
Electricity. an often flexible and insulated single conductor, as a wire, used in connections between pieces of electric apparatus.
the act of taking the offensive.
Nautical.
the direction of a rope, wire, or chain.
Also called leader. any of various devices for guiding a running rope.
Naval Architecture. the distance between the center of lateral resistance and the center of effort of a sailing ship, usually expressed decimally as a fraction of the water-line length.
an open channel through a field of ice.
Mining.
a lode.
an auriferous deposit in an old riverbed.
the act of aiming a gun ahead of a moving target.
the distance ahead of a moving target that a gun must be aimed in order to score a direct hit.
Baseball. an act or instance of leading.
Manège. (of a horse at a canter or gallop) the foreleg that consistently extends beyond and strikes the ground ahead of the other foreleg: The horse is cantering on the left lead.
adjective
most important; principal; leading; first: lead editorial;lead elephant;lead designer.
Football. (of a forward pass) thrown ahead of the intended receiver so as to allow him to catch it while running.
Baseball. (of a base runner) nearest to scoring: They forced the lead runner at third base on an attempted sacrifice.
Verb Phrases
lead off,
to take the initiative; begin.
Baseball.to be the first player in the batting order or the first batter in an inning.
lead on,
to induce to follow an unwise course of action; mislead.
to cause or encourage to believe something that is not true.
lead out,
to make a beginning.
to escort a partner to begin a dance: He led her out and they began a rumba.
Idioms for lead
lead someone a chase / dance, to cause someone difficulty by forcing to do irksome or unnecessary things.
lead the way. way1 (def. 34).
lead up to,
to prepare the way for.
to approach (a subject, disclosure, etc.) gradually or evasively: I could tell by her allusions that she was leading up to something.
Origin of lead
1
before 900; Middle English leden,Old English lǣdan (causative of līthan to go, travel); cognate with Dutch leiden,German leiten,Old Norse leitha
SYNONYMS FOR lead
1 accompany, precede.
3 persuade, convince.
10 excel, outstrip, surpass.
28 head, vanguard.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR lead ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR lead
1 follow.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR lead ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for lead
1. See guide.
Words nearby lead
leach, leachate, leaching, leachy, Leacock, lead, lead acetate, lead a chase, lead a dog's life, lead a double life, lead arsenate
Definition for lead (2 of 2)
lead2
[ led ]
/ lɛd /
noun
Chemistry. a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal, sometimes found in its natural state but usually combined as a sulfide, especially in galena. Symbol: Pb; atomic weight: 207.19; atomic number: 82; specific gravity: 11.34 at 20°C.
something made of this metal or of one of its alloys.
a plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings.
bullets collectively; shot.
black lead or graphite.
a small stick of graphite, as used in pencils.
Also leading. Printing. a thin strip of type metal or brass less than type-high, used for increasing the space between lines of type.
a grooved bar of lead or came in which sections of glass are set, as in stained-glass windows.
leads,British. a roof, especially one that is shallow or flat, covered with lead.
white lead.
verb (used with object)
to cover, line, weight, treat, or impregnate with lead or one of its compounds.
Printing. to insert leads between the lines of.
to fix (window glass) in position with leads.
adjective
made of or containing lead: a lead pipe; a lead compound.
Origin of lead
2
before 900; Middle English lede,Old English lēad; cognate with Dutch lood,Old Frisian lād lead, German Lot plummet
These two trends — more absentee voting, not much time to prepare for it — could lead to some snail’s-pace race calls in November.
Election live updates: Trump returns to Wisconsin; Biden to face live audience at town hall|Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
The poll finds that Biden leads 57 percent to 41 percent among Minnesota likely voters, a 16-point margin that contrasts with Biden’s slight six-point edge in a Post-ABC poll conducted in Wisconsin over the same period.
Post-ABC poll and others suggest Minnesota has shifted since 2016, but by how much?|Scott Clement, Dan Balz|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
That all leads to a high velocity of transactions, Fitzgibbons said.
‘Our goal is to become a massive marketplace’: NTWRK is bringing livestream commerce to a younger generation|Kayleigh Barber|September 14, 2020|Digiday
Sluggish growth led it to widen the scope, posting everything the Economist publishes — between 75 and 100 pieces of content a week — in a more scattergun approach.
How The Economist has tripled the number of subscribers driven by LinkedIn|Lucinda Southern|September 14, 2020|Digiday
Such is her burgeoning popularity Toomey is looking to employ more instructors to lead her highly personalized exercise classes.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There were a lot of little pieces, pieces of lead and stuff.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Big Perm worries that the lack of policing the “small fry” will lead to more crimes by “big fry.”
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sting took over the lead role to try to draw an audience, but his thumpingly inspirational score was already the hero of the show.
Hedwig, Hugh & Michael Cera: 12 Powerhouse Theater Performances of 2014|Janice Kaplan|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This immediately raises the issue of who will lead the crash investigation.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?|Clive Irving|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They wrote state-papers, went on embassies, and took the lead at town-meetings.
Atlantic Monthly, Vol. XII. September, 1863, No. LXXI.|Various
I will ask our brother, Huya, the great war bird, to lead you to the Blackfeet camp.
The War Trail|Elmer Russell Gregor
When my lead dog found him, and raised the yell, all the rest broke to him, but none of them entered his house until we got up.
A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee.|Davy Crockett
Well, you'd a died to see dad get up out of that prickly cactus and take the lead for good old Rome.
Peck's Bad Boy Abroad|George W. Peck
But, somehow, Jefferson Creede took the lead and rode with his eyes cast down, lest they should be dazzled by the vision.
Hidden Water|Dane Coolidge
British Dictionary definitions for lead (1 of 2)
lead1
/ (liːd) /
verbleads, leadingorled (lɛd)
to show the way to (an individual or a group) by going with or aheadlead the party into the garden
to guide or be guided by holding, pulling, etche led the horse by its reins
(tr)to cause to act, feel, think, or behave in a certain way; induce; influencehe led me to believe that he would go
(tr)to phrase a question to (a witness) that tends to suggest the desired answer
(when intr, foll by to) (of a road, route, etc) to serve as the means of reaching a place
(tr)to go ahead so as to indicate (esp in the phrase lead the way)
to guide, control, or directto lead an army
(tr)to direct the course of or conduct (water, a rope or wire, etc) along or as if along a channel
to initiate the action of (something); have the principal part in (something)to lead a discussion
to go at the head of or have the top position in (something)he leads his class in geography
(intr foll by with) to have as the first or principal itemthe newspaper led with the royal birth
music
Britishto play first violin in (an orchestra)
(intr)(of an instrument or voice) to be assigned an important entry in a piece of music
to direct and guide (one's partner) in a dance
(tr)
to pass or spendI lead a miserable life
to cause to pass a life of a particular kindto lead a person a dog's life
(intr foll by to) to tend (to) or result (in)this will only lead to misery
to initiate a round of cards by putting down (the first card) or to have the right to do thisshe led a diamond
(tr)to aim at a point in front of (a moving target) in shooting, etc, in order to allow for the time of flight
(intr)boxingto make an offensive blow, esp as one's habitual attacking punchsouthpaws lead with their right
lead astrayto mislead so as to cause error or wrongdoing
lead by the nose See nose (def. 12)
noun
the first, foremost, or most prominent place
(as modifier)lead singer
example, precedence, or leadershipthe class followed the teacher's lead
an advance or advantage held over othersthe runner had a lead of twenty yards
anything that guides or directs; indication; clue
another name for leash
the act or prerogative of playing the first card in a round of cards or the card so played
the principal role in a play, film, etc, or the person playing such a role
the principal news story in a newspaperthe scandal was the lead in the papers
the opening paragraph of a news story
(as modifier)lead story
musican important entry assigned to one part usually at the beginning of a movement or section
a wire, cable, or other conductor for making an electrical connection
boxing
one's habitual attacking punch
a blow made with this
nauticalthe direction in which a rope runs
a deposit of metal or ore; lode
the firing of a gun, missile, etc, ahead of a moving target to correct for the time of flight of the projectile
See also lead off, lead on, lead up to
Word Origin for lead
Old English lǣdan; related to līthan to travel, Old High German līdan to go
British Dictionary definitions for lead (2 of 2)
lead2
/ (lɛd) /
noun
a heavy toxic bluish-white metallic element that is highly malleable: occurs principally as galena and used in alloys, accumulators, cable sheaths, paints, and as a radiation shield. Symbol: Pb; atomic no: 82; atomic wt: 207.2; valency: 2 or 4; relative density: 11.35; melting pt: 327.502°C; boiling pt: 1750°CRelated adjectives: plumbic, plumbeous, plumbous
a lead weight suspended on a line used to take soundings of the depth of water
swing the leadto malinger or make up excuses
lead weights or shot, as used in cartridges, fishing lines, etc
a thin grooved strip of lead for holding small panes of glass or pieces of stained glass
(plural)
thin sheets or strips of lead used as a roof covering
a flat or low-pitched roof covered with such sheets
printinga thin strip of type metal used for spacing between lines of hot-metal typeCompare reglet (def. 2)
graphite or a mixture containing graphite, clay, etc, used for drawing
a thin stick of this material, esp the core of a pencil
(modifier)of, consisting of, relating to, or containing lead
advantage, point, top, start, edge, margin, force, attend, get, manage, drive, see, show, head, move, prompt, serve, contribute, draw, introduce
Medical definitions for lead (1 of 2)
lead 11
[ lēd ]
n.
Any of the conductors designed to detect changes in electrical potential when situated in or on the body and connected to an instrument that registers and records these changes, such as an electrocardiograph.
A record made from the current supplied by one of these conductors.
Medical definitions for lead (2 of 2)
lead 22
[ lĕd ]
n.Symbol Pb
A soft ductile dense metallic element. Atomic number 82.
A soft, ductile, heavy, bluish-gray metallic element that is extracted chiefly from galena. It is very durable and resistant to corrosion and is a poor conductor of electricity. Lead is used to make radiation shielding and containers for corrosive substances. It was once commonly used in pipes, solder, roofing, paint, and antiknock compounds in gasoline, but its use in these products has been curtailed because of its toxicity. Atomic number 82; atomic weight 207.2; melting point 327.5°C; boiling point 1,744°C; specific gravity 11.35; valence 2, 4. See Periodic Table. See Note at element.