lead

UK: /ˈliːd/ US: /lid/ ,(lēd for 1; led for 2)

Inflections of 'lead' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

leads

v 3rd person singular

leading

v pres p

led

v past

led

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

lead¹ /lid/   v., led/lɛd/  lead•ing, n., adj. 
v. 

1. to go before or with to show the way;
   conduct or escort;
   guide: [~ + object]
   The captain led his troops over the hill.
   [no object]
   If you lead, I will follow.
2. to conduct by guiding:
   [~ + object] to lead a horse by a rope.
3. to influence (the thoughts);
   cause:
   [~ + object] What led her to change her mind?
4. to result in;
   tend toward:
   [~ + to + object] The incident led to her resignation.
5. to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.;
   bring:
   [~ + object] You can lead him around to your point of view.
6. to go through or pass (time, life, etc.):
   [~ + object] to lead a full and happy life.
7. to conduct in a particular course:
   [~ + object] The pipes led the water directly to the sewer.
8. (of a road, passage, etc.) to serve to bring (a person) to a place: [~ + object]
   The next street will lead you to the post office.
   [~ + to + object]
   That path leads directly to the house.
9. to take or bring:
   [~ + object] The visitors were led into the senator's office.
10. to be in command of;
    direct:
    [~ + object] He led the British forces during the war.
11. to go at the head of or in advance of:
    [~ + object] The mayor will lead the parade.
12. to have first place in: [~ + object]
    Iowa leads the nation in corn production.
    [no object]
    His party was leading in the polls.
13. to direct or have the principal part in:
    [~ + object] Who is going to lead the discussion?
14. [~ + object] to act as leader of (an orchestra, band, etc.);
    conduct.
15. Games to begin a hand in a card game (with a card or suit specified): [~ + object]
    I'll lead diamonds.
    [no object]
    The player to the dealer's left is supposed to lead.
16. lead off:
    • to begin;
      start: [~ + off + object]
      Let's lead off the meeting with a prayer.
      [no object]
      The meeting led off with a prayer.
    • Sport [Baseball.] to be the first player in (the batting order) or the first batter in (an inning): [~ + off + object]
      He led off the game with a home run.
      [no object]
      He led off, and promptly singled.
17. lead on, to mislead: [~ + object + on]
    led him on into thinking he had the job.
    [~ + on + object]
    He'd led on dozens of customers.

n. [countable]

18. the first or foremost place:
    to take the lead in the race.
19. the extent of such an advance position:
    a lead of several yards.
20. a person or thing that leads.
21. a leash:
    The dog was on a short lead.
22. a piece of useful information:
    The reporter got a lead on the story from a bystander.
23. example;
    leadership:
    He took the lead in the charity drive.
24. Show Business
    • the principal part in a play.
    • the person who plays it.
25. Games
    • the act or right of playing first in a card game.
    • the card, suit, etc., so played.
26. Journalism the opening paragraph of a newspaper story, serving as a summary.
27. Electricity an insulated single wire used as a conductor in electrical connections.

adj. [before a noun]

28. most important;
    principal;
    leading;
    first:
    a lead editorial.

Idioms

29. Idioms lead up to, [~ + object]
    • to prepare the way for:
      A number of events led up to the stock market crash.
    • to approach gradually:
      He was slowly leading up to a request for a raise.

lead² /lɛd/   n. 

[uncountable]
1. Chemistry a heavy, soft, bluish-gray metal that can be shaped easily.
2. bullets;
   shot:
   shot the victim full of lead.
3. Chemistry graphite, esp. a thin stick of graphite used in a pencil.

v. [~ + object]

4. to cover, line, weight, or treat with lead or one of its compounds.

Idioms

5. Idioms get the lead out, [no object] [Slang.] to move or work faster;
   hurry up.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lead¹  (lēd), v., led, lead•ing, n., adj. 
v.t. 

1. to go before or with to show the way;
   conduct or escort:
   to lead a group on a cross-country hike.
2. to conduct by holding and guiding:
   to lead a horse by a rope.
3. to influence or induce;
   cause:
   Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.
4. to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.;
   bring:
   You can lead her around to your point of view if you are persistent.
5. to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course.
6. (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.
7. to take or bring:
   The prisoners were led into the warden's office.
8. to command or direct (an army or other large organization):
   He led the Allied forces during the war.
9. to go at the head of or in advance of (a procession, list, body, etc.);
   proceed first in:
   The mayor will lead the parade.
10. to be superior to;
    have the advantage over:
    The first baseman leads his teammates in runs batted in.
11. to have top position or first place in:
    Iowa leads the nation in corn production.
12. to have the directing or principal part in:
    The minister will now lead us in prayer. He led a peace movement.
13. to act as leader of (an orchestra, band, etc.);
    conduct.
14. to go through or pass (time, life, etc.):
    to lead a full life.
15. Games [Cards.] to begin a round, game, etc., with (a card or suit specified).
16. 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.
17. Sport [Football.] to throw a lead pass to (an intended receiver):
    The quarterback led the left end.

v.i. 

18. to act as a guide;
    show the way:
    You lead and we'll follow.
19. to afford passage to a place:
    That path leads directly to the house.
20. to go first;
    be in advance:
    The band will lead and the troops will follow.
21. to result in;
    tend toward (usually fol. by to):
    The incident led to his resignation. One remark often leads to another.
22. to take the directing or principal part.
23. to take the offensive:
    The contender led with a right to the body.
24. Games [Cards.] to make the first play.
25. to be led or submit to being led, as a horse:
    A properly trained horse will lead easily.
26. Sport [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 fol. by away).
27. Games lead back, to play (a card) from a suit that one's partner led.
28. lead off:
    • to take the initiative;
      begin.
    • Sport [Baseball.] to be the first player in the batting order or the first batter in an inning.
29. lead on:
    • to induce to follow an unwise course of action;
      mislead.
    • to cause or encourage to believe something that is not true.
30. lead out:
    • to make a beginning.
    • to escort a partner to begin a dance:
      He led her out and they began a rumba.
31. Idioms lead someone a chase or dance, to cause someone difficulty by forcing to do irksome or unnecessary things.
32. lead the way. See way (def. 35).
33. Idioms 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.

n. 

34. the first or foremost place;
    position in advance of others:
    He took the lead in the race.
35. the extent of such an advance position:
    He had a lead of four lengths.
36. a person or thing that leads.
37. a leash.
38. 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.
39. a guide or indication of a road, course, method, etc., to follow.
40. precedence;
    example;
    leadership:
    They followed the lead of the capital in their fashions.
41. Show Business [Theat.]
    • the principal part in a play.
    • the person who plays it.
42. Games [Cards.]
    • the act or right of playing first, as in a round.
    • the card, suit, etc., so played.
43. Journalism
    • a short summary serving as an introduction to a news story, article, or other copy.
    • the main and often most important news story.
44. Electricity an often flexible and insulated single conductor, as a wire, used in connections between pieces of electric apparatus.
45. the act of taking the offensive.
46. [Naut.]
    • Naval Terms the direction of a rope, wire, or chain.
    • Naval Terms Also called leader. any of various devices for guiding a running rope.
47. Nautical, Naval Terms [Naval Archit.] 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.
48. an open channel through a field of ice.
49. Mining
    • a lode.
    • an auriferous deposit in an old riverbed.
50. the act of aiming a gun ahead of a moving target.
51. the distance ahead of a moving target that a gun must be aimed in order to score a direct hit.
52. Sport [Baseball.] an act or instance of leading.
53. Sport [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.

adj. 

54. most important;
    principal;
    leading;
    first:
    lead editorial; lead elephant.
55. Sport [Football.] (of a forward pass) thrown ahead of the intended receiver so as to allow him to catch it while running.
56. Sport [Baseball.] (of a base runner) nearest to scoring:
    They forced the lead runner at third base on an attempted sacrifice.

• bef. 900; Middle English leden, Old English lǣdan (causative of līthan to go, travel); cognate with Dutch leiden, German leiten, Old Norse leitha

Synonyms

• 1. accompany, precede. See guide. 
• 3. persuade, convince.
• 10. excel, outstrip, surpass.
• 34. head, vanguard.

Antonyms

• 1. follow.

lead²  (led), n. 

1. Chemistry a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal, sometimes found in its natural state but usually combined as a sulfide, esp. in galena. Symbol: Pb;
   at. wt.: 207.19;
   at. no.: 82;
   sp. gr.: 11.34 at 20°C.
2. something made of this metal or of one of its alloys.
3. a plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings.
4. bullets collectively;
   shot.
5. Chemistry black lead or graphite.
6. a small stick of graphite, as used in pencils.
7. Printing Also, leading. a thin strip of type metal or brass less than type-high, used for increasing the space between lines of type.
8. Building a grooved bar of lead or came in which sections of glass are set, as in stained-glass windows.
9. British Terms leads, a roof, esp. one that is shallow or flat, covered with lead.
10. Chemistry See white lead. 
11. get the lead out, [Slang.] to move or work faster;
    hurry up.
12. Nautical heave the lead, to take a sounding with a lead.

v.t. 

13. to cover, line, weight, treat, or impregnate with lead or one of its compounds.
14. Printing to insert leads between the lines of.
15. Building to fix (window glass) in position with leads.

adj. 

16. Chemistry made of or containing lead:
    a lead pipe; a lead compound.
17. go over like a lead balloon, [Slang.] to fail to arouse interest, enthusiasm, or support.

• bef. 900; Middle English lede, Old English lēad; cognate with Dutch lood, Old Frisian lād lead, German Lot plummet

lead′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 3. weight, plumb.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

lead / liːd/ verb (leads, leading, led / lɛd/)

1. to show the way to (an individual or a group) by going with or ahead: lead the party into the garden
2. to guide or be guided by holding, pulling, etc: he led the horse by its reins
3. (transitive) to cause to act, feel, think, or behave in a certain way; induce; influence: he led me to believe that he would go
4. when intr, followed by to: (of a road, route, etc) to serve as the means of reaching a place
5. (transitive) to go ahead so as to indicate (esp in the phrase lead the way)
6. to guide, control, or direct: to lead an army
7. (transitive) to direct the course of or conduct (water, a rope or wire, etc) along or as if along a channel
8. to initiate the action of (something); have the principal part in (something): to lead a discussion
9. to go at the head of or have the top position in (something): he leads his class in geography
10. (intransitive) followed by with: to have as the first or principal item: the newspaper led with the royal birth
11. to play first violin in (an orchestra)
12. to direct and guide (one's partner) in a dance
13. (transitive) to pass or spend: I lead a miserable life
14. to cause to pass a life of a particular kind: to lead a person a dog's life
15. (intransitive) followed by to: to tend (to) or result (in): this will only lead to misery
16. to initiate a round of cards by putting down (the first card) or to have the right to do this: she led a diamond
17. (intransitive) to make an offensive blow, esp as one's habitual attacking punch
18. lead by the nose ⇒
    See nose13

noun

1. the first, foremost, or most prominent place
2. (as modifier): lead singer
3. example, precedence, or leadership: the class followed the teacher's lead
4. an advance or advantage held over others: the runner had a lead of twenty yards
5. anything that guides or directs; indication; clue
6. another name for leash
7. the act or prerogative of playing the first card in a round of cards or the card so played
8. the principal role in a play, film, etc, or the person playing such a role
9. Also called (esp US and Canadian): lede the principal news story in a newspaper: the scandal was the lead in the papers
10. (as modifier): lead story
11. an important entry assigned to one part usually at the beginning of a movement or section
12. a wire, cable, or other conductor for making an electrical connection
13. one's habitual attacking punch
14. a blow made with this
15. a deposit of metal or ore; lode

Etymology: Old English lǣdan; related to līthan to travel, Old High German līdan to go

lead / lɛd/ noun

1. 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°C
2. a lead weight suspended on a line used to take soundings of the depth of water
3. lead weights or shot, as used in cartridges, fishing lines, etc
4. a thin grooved strip of lead for holding small panes of glass or pieces of stained glass
5. (plural) thin sheets or strips of lead used as a roof covering
6. a flat or low-pitched roof covered with such sheets
7. a thin strip of type metal used for spacing between lines of hot-metal type
   Compare reglet2
8. graphite or a mixture containing graphite, clay, etc, used for drawing
9. a thin stick of this material, esp the core of a pencil
10. (modifier) of, consisting of, relating to, or containing lead
11. go down like a lead balloon ⇒
    See balloon9

verb (transitive)

1. to fill or treat with lead
2. to surround, cover, or secure with lead or leads
3. to space (type) by use of leads

Etymology: Old English; related to Dutch lood, German Lot