# lead

Pronunciation: say "LEED" US /lid/, UK /liːd/

## Verb

1. To result in something or be the cause of it.
   - Simple: To cause something else to happen as a result.
   - _Years of overspending can lead to serious debt._
   - _The discovery led to a complete change in treatment._
2. To be in charge of a group, team, or activity, directing and guiding it with authority.
   - Simple: To be the person in charge of a group and tell or show others what to do.
   - _General Okonkwo led three battalions through the campaign._
   - _They asked her to lead the marketing division after the merger._
4. To show someone the way by going in front of or with them, sometimes holding their hand or a rope.
   - Simple: To go in front of or with someone or an animal to take them somewhere.
   - _The ranger led the group along a narrow ridge to the summit._
   - _Volunteers lead newcomers through the building on their first day._
6. To go or stretch toward some place or in some direction, as a road or passage does.
   - Simple: To go toward a certain place or point in a certain direction.
   - _The narrow staircase leads up to the attic._
   - _All these corridors lead back to the main hall._
7. To be ahead of the others competing, such as in a race or a game.
   - Simple: To be in front of others in a race or contest.
   - _She led by two seconds going into the final lap._
   - _Teams that lead at halftime do not always win._
9. To influence someone so that they do or believe something.
   - Simple: To make someone do something or think something is true.
   - _Clever advertising can lead consumers to buy things they never wanted._
   - _His ambition led him to betray his closest friends._
15. To have or pursue a particular kind of life, such as a quiet or double one.
   - Simple: To live your life in a particular way.
   - _After retiring, they lead a peaceful life by the sea._
   - _She led a double life that no one suspected._
24. To begin a game, round, or trick by playing a particular card or piece first.
   - Simple: To start a game, round, or hand by playing a card or piece first.
   - _He leads trumps early to draw out his opponents' high cards._
   - _In euchre, the player to the dealer's left may lead any suit._

## Adjective

3. First in position or rank; main or most important.
   - Simple: At the front, or the most important one in a group.
   - _The lead engineer signed off on the final design._
   - _Their lead candidate dropped out a week before the vote._

## Noun

5. The state of being ahead of others, or the size of that advantage, as in a race or a game.
   - Simple: The position of being in front, or how far ahead you are.
   - _A three-point lead vanished in the final minute._
   - _He built an early lead and never let it slip._
8. A heavy, soft, bluish-gray metallic element that is malleable and easily melted, used in solder, batteries, and type metal. (pronounced: say "LED" /lɛd/)
   - Simple: A soft, heavy gray metal that bends easily and was once used in pipes and paint.
   - _The old roof was sealed with sheets of lead._
   - _The plumber warned that the old house still had water pipes made of lead, which can be harmful to health._
10. The main part in a play or film, or the actor who plays it.
   - Simple: The most important part in a play or film, or the person who acts it.
   - _He auditioned three times before finally getting the lead._
   - _The lead in this thriller requires both singing and stunt work._
11. The act of leading or conducting others; the guidance, direction, or course provided.
   - Simple: The act of guiding others, or the direction that someone gives.
   - _Unsure how to behave at the formal dinner, he took his lead from the host and copied everything she did._
   - _Under her capable lead, the committee reached a decision quickly._
14. The thin cylinder of graphite inside a pencil, which makes the marks when you write. (pronounced: say "LED" /lɛd/)
   - Simple: The thin gray stick inside a pencil that you write with.
   - _He pressed so hard that the lead snapped against the paper._
   - _Artists choose softer leads for rich, dark shading._
12. A possible customer, or a chance for a future sale.
   - Simple: A person who might buy something from a business.
   - _Marketing passed a promising lead to the sales department._
   - _Each lead is tracked carefully until it becomes a paying customer._
13. The person in charge of a project, team, or work shift.
   - Simple: A person who is in charge of a project or a work shift.
   - _As the lead on this account, she answers directly to the client._
   - _Each team reports to a lead who tracks daily progress._
16. A piece of information that gives an investigator or reporter a way to find out more about a crime, incident, or story.
   - Simple: A piece of information that helps police or a reporter find out more about a crime or story.
   - _A tip from a neighbor became the lead that cracked the case._
   - _Detectives chased down a promising lead in the harbor district._
17. The principal tune or solo line in a piece of music, especially one that is sung or played on lead guitar.
   - Simple: The main tune or solo part in a piece of music, often sung or played on a guitar.
   - _On the band's new single, the drummer steps out from behind his kit to sing lead._
   - _The violins carry the lead in the opening bars before passing it to the flutes._
18. A rope, strap, or chain attached to an animal's collar to guide and restrain it; a leash.
   - Simple: A rope or strap used to hold and guide an animal as you walk it.
   - _The trainer kept a short lead on the nervous horse._
   - _He unclipped the lead and let the dog run on the beach._
19. Bullets or ammunition, especially as fired from guns. *(slang)* (pronounced: say "LED" /lɛd/)
   - Simple: Bullets or ammunition fired from guns.
   - _The outlaws sprayed the saloon with lead until their guns clicked empty._
   - _Pinned down behind the wagon, they had no lead left to return fire._
20. An insulated metallic wire used to connect electrical devices and equipment to power or to one another. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A covered wire that connects an electrical device to a power supply or to another device.
   - _The lead on the old lamp had frayed near the plug, so he replaced it before anyone got a shock._
   - _A frayed lead can be dangerous and should be replaced at once._
21. The opening paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper story or other article, giving the most important information. *(US)*
   - Simple: The first paragraph of a news story, which gives the main facts.
   - _Editors trimmed the lead to fit the front page._
   - _Her lead opened with a single dramatic sentence._
22. The most important news story, placed on the front page or first in a broadcast.
   - Simple: The biggest news story of the day, put first in a paper or news show.
   - _The election results were the lead on every network last night._
   - _Editors argued over whether the storm or the strike should be the lead._
23. In baseball, the position a base runner takes by stepping away from the base while waiting for the pitch.
   - Simple: In baseball, the distance a runner moves off a base before the pitch.
   - _He took an aggressive lead and dashed for second on the next pitch._
   - _Coaches warn young players that too large a lead invites a pickoff throw._
25. In card games and dominoes, the first play of a game or round or the right to make it; also, the card, suit or piece played first.
   - Simple: In card games and dominoes, the turn to play first, or the card or piece played first.
   - _In this game, the player on the dealer's left has the lead for the first trick._
   - _Grandpa put down the double six as his lead, and play moved around the table._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A weight of lead tied to a line and dropped overboard to measure how deep the water is, once also used to gauge a ship's speed.
- (noun) In letterpress work, a slim metal spacer placed below each row of set characters to open up the gap.
- (noun) The amount of up-and-down room given to each row of printed words, also called leading.
- (noun) Sheets of the soft gray metal rolled out and laid as a roof covering.
- (noun) A roof, or part of one, covered in sheet lead or in plates coated with a lead and tin alloy, often used in the plural.
- (noun) A lead-lined apron or garment worn to shield the body from radiation during an X-ray.
- (verb) To apply lead to something, for example as a lining, coating, or added weight.
- (verb) To widen the spacing of printed lines by inserting thin metal strips between them.
- (verb) To be ahead of competitors in technical progress or market position.
- (verb) In baseball, for a runner to edge a few steps off the base toward the next one before the pitch.
- (verb) To point a gun slightly ahead of a target that is moving so the shot meets it as it goes by.
- (verb) In rock climbing, to go up first, clipping the rope into protection along the way instead of being protected by a rope from above.
- (noun) A lane of open water that cracks open through sea ice or pack ice.
- (noun) A vein of metal ore running through rock, also called a lode.
- (noun) The path a rope follows along its whole length, as through blocks and fairleads on a ship.
- (noun) In a steam engine, how far the valve has already opened the steam port at the moment the piston reaches the end of its travel.
- (noun) In earthmoving, how far material must be carried, for example from where it is dug out to where it is dumped as fill.
- (noun) The pushing action of one gear tooth on another tooth or on a pallet, as in a clock mechanism.
- (noun) An idea or possible explanation that has not yet been checked or followed up.
- (noun) In curling, the team member who delivers the team's opening two stones in each end.
- (noun) For a screw, how far it moves along its axis in one full turn, which is the pitch multiplied by the number of thread starts.
- (noun) The singer who carries the tune in barbershop harmony, normally the second tenor.
- (noun) The first statement of a musical theme by one part, which the other parts then take up in turn.
- (noun) A sign or brief phrase in one part of a canon or similar piece that cues the other parts to come in.
- (noun) In electronic music, the synthesizer sound that carries the melody, often made from simple wave shapes like sawtooth or square waves.
- (noun) The amount by which the angle between neighboring cranks on one engine shaft exceeds ninety degrees, as in a compound engine.
- (noun) In a direct-current dynamo, the angle by which the brush line is shifted from the line midway between the magnetic poles.
- (noun) In an alternating-current circuit, the amount by which the current runs ahead in phase of the voltage that drives it.

## Origin

**Meanings 8, 14, 17, 19** — From Middle English led, from Old English lēad ("lead"), from Proto-West Germanic *laud, possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom, perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root *plewd- ("to flow"). It is related to Dutch lood, German Lot ("solder, plummet"), and Latin plumbum ("lead"). Pencil lead keeps the name because the pure graphite found in Cumbria, England, in the 1500s was taken for a form of lead.
**Meanings 1–7, 9–13, 15–16, 18, 20–25** — Old English lǣdan ("to lead") became Middle English leden. Its source is Proto-Germanic *laidijaną, which meant "to cause one to go" and was a causative of *līþaną ("to go"). Dutch leiden and German leiten ("to lead") are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lead (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).