lead² /led/

1. A heavy soft bluish-grey metallic element (symbol Pb; atomic no 82)
2. A plummet for sounding
3. A thin plate of lead separating lines of type (also leading)
4. A pan or cauldron of lead, or of a kind once made of lead
5. A strip of lead, U- or H-shaped in cross-section, used to join pieces of stained glass or the panes of a lattice window, a came
6. Blacklead graphite
7. The core of coloured material in a coloured pencil
8. A stick of graphite for a pencil
9. (in pl) sheets of lead for covering roofs, or a flat roof so covered
10. A lead weight or piece of lead shot used at the end of a fishing-line and in cartridges

Made of lead

1. To cover, weight or fit with lead
2. To join together (pieces of stained glass or a lattice window) with leads (often with up; also intransitive verb)
3. To separate the lines of with leads (printing)

leadˈed adjective

1. Fitted or weighted with or set in lead
2. Separated by leads (printing)
3. (of petrol) containing tetraethyl lead

leadˈen adjective

1. Made of lead
2. Lead-coloured
3. Inert
4. Oppressive
5. Depressing
6. Heavy
7. Dull

To make or become leaden

leadˈenly adverb

leadˈenness noun

leadˈing noun

1. Leads collectively
2. (also lead) the strip of lead separating lines of type (printing)
3. The vertical space caused by such a strip

leadˈless adjective

leadˈy adjective

Like lead

lead acetate see sugar of lead under sugar

leadˈ-armˈing noun (nautical)

Tallow, etc placed in the hollow of a sounding-lead to ascertain the nature of the bottom of the sea, river, etc

lead colic see lead poisoning below.

leadˈen-steppˈing adjective (Milton)

Moving slowly

leadˈ-free see unleaded under un-

lead glance noun

Galena

lead glass noun

Glass containing lead oxide

leadˈ-line noun

1. A sounding-line (nautical)
2. Any of the lines on a stained glass cartoon indicating where the leads will lie in the finished work

lead monoxide noun

A bright yellow solid compound used in pigments and paints

leadˈ-paintˈ noun

Paint with red lead or white lead as its base

lead pencil noun

A blacklead pencil for writing or drawing

lead poisoning noun

1. Plumbism, poisoning by the absorption of lead into the system, its commonest form being lead colic, or painter's colic
2. Death by shooting (slang)

leadsˈman noun

A seaman who heaves the lead or plummet for sounding

lead tree noun

Saturn's tree (qv)

leadˈwort same as plumbago¹

eat lead (slang)

To be shot, be killed by shooting

• doctrinaires
• doctrinairism
• doctrinairisms
• doctrinal
• doctrinally
• doctrinarian
• doctrinarianism
• doctrinarians
• doctrine
• doctrine of correspondences
• doctrine of signatures
• doctrines
• docu
• Dieu vous garde
• die with one's boots on
• die-work
• DIF
• diff.
• diffarreation
• diffarreations
• differ
• differed
• difference
• differenced
• difference of opinion