lead
Other forms: led; leading; leads; leaded
To lead means to go in front, or to serve as the leader of a group. If you’re on a group hiking trip and the navigator lost the map, you’ll want someone with a good sense of direction to lead the group back to the car.
If you have done excellent, groundbreaking research into cancer treatment, someone might say you lead the field in finding a cure for cancer. If we say a football team has a strong lead, that means that they’re on the way to winning a game. If you are a detective and you discover a room full of evidence on a case, that might lead to its solution.
Definitions of lead
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take somebody somewhere“We lead him to our chief”
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types:
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beacon
guide with a beacon
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hand
guide or conduct or usher somewhere
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lead astray, misdirect, misguide, mislead
lead someone in the wrong direction or give someone wrong directions
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show, usher
take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums
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marshal
lead ceremoniously, as in a procession
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cause something to pass or lead somewhere
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travel in front of; go in advance of others
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be ahead of others; be the first
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synonyms:
top
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move ahead (of others) in time or space
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lead, extend, or afford access
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stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
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tend to or result in
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have as a result or residue
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types:
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entail, implicate
impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result
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necessitate
cause to be a concomitant
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type of:
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achieve, beget, bring about, give rise, produce
cause to happen, occur, or exist
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entail, implicate
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cause to undertake a certain action
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be conducive to
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be in charge of
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synonyms:
head
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chair, chairman
act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university
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captain
be the captain of a sports team
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spearhead
be the leader of
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take charge, take control, take hold
assume control
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move in on
seize control of
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type of:
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direct
be in charge of
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preside over
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lead, as in the performance of a composition
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a position of leadership (especially in the phrase `take the lead')“he takes the lead in any group”“we were just waiting for someone to take the lead”“they didn't follow our lead”
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type of:
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leadership, leading
the activity of leading
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leadership, leading
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an advantage held by a competitor in a race
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(baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base
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(sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning
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evidence pointing to a possible solution
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an indication of potential opportunity“a good lead for a job”
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synonyms:
confidential information, hint, steer, tip, wind
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type of:
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counsel, counseling, counselling, direction, guidance
something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action
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counsel, counseling, counselling, direction, guidance
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the introductory section of a story“it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter”
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type of:
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section, subdivision
a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)
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section, subdivision
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a news story of major importance
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synonyms:
lead story
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type of:
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news article, news story, newspaper article
an article reporting news
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news article, news story, newspaper article
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an actor who plays a principal role
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co-star
one of two actors who are given equal status as stars in a play or film
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film star, movie star
a star who plays leading roles in the cinema
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icon, idol, matinee idol
someone who is adored blindly and excessively
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TV star, television star
a star in a television show
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heartthrob
an object of infatuation
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type of:
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actor, histrion, player, role player, thespian
a theatrical performer
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restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
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type of:
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constraint, restraint
a device that impede's something's motion
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constraint, restraint
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the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge
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the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)
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type of:
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angle
the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians
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angle
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a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire
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synonyms:
booster cable, jumper cable, jumper lead
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types:
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clip lead
a short piece of wire with alligator clips on both ends
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type of:
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jumper
a small connector used to make temporary electrical connections
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conducting wire, wire
a metal conductor that carries electricity over a distance
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clip lead
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the timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine
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synonyms:
spark advance
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type of:
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timing
the time when something happens
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timing
Definitions of lead
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a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element; bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes readily to dull grey“the children were playing with lead soldiers”
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synonyms:
Pb, atomic number 82
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types:
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hard lead
unrefined lead that is hard because of the impurities it contains
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antimonial lead, hard lead
a lead alloy that contains about 5% antimony
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pig lead
lead that is cast in pigs
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grid metal
a kind of hard lead that is used for grids in storage batteries
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type of:
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metal, metallic element
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
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mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil
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synonyms:
pencil lead
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type of:
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black lead, graphite, plumbago
used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors
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black lead, graphite, plumbago
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thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘lead'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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