lead

Plural: leads

Noun

• an advantage held by a competitor in a race
  • "he took the lead at the last turn"
• 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"
• evidence pointing to a possible solution
  • "the police are following a promising lead"
• 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"
• the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)
• the introductory section of a story
  • "it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter"
• (sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning
• an actor who plays a principal role
• (baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base
  • "he took a long lead off first"
• an indication of potential opportunity
  • "a good lead for a job"
• a news story of major importance
• the timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine
• restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
• thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing
• mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil
• a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire
  • "it was a tangle of jumper cables and clip leads"
• the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge
  • "the lead was in the dummy"
• A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82, symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum).
• A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea or (dated) to estimate velocity in knots.
• A thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing.
• Vertical space in advance of a row or between rows of text. Also known as leading.
• Sheets or plates of lead used as a covering for roofs.
• A roof covered with lead sheets or terne plates.
• A thin cylinder of graphite used in pencils.
• Bullets; ammunition.
• X-ray protective clothing lined with lead.
• The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction, course
• Precedence; advance position; also, the measure of precedence; the state of being ahead in a race; the highest score in an incomplete game.
• An insulated metallic wire for electrical devices and equipment.
• The situation where a runner steps away from a base while waiting for the pitch to be thrown.
• The act or right of playing first in a game or round; the card suit, or piece, so played
• The main role in a play or film; the lead role.
• The actor who plays the main role; lead actor.
• The person in charge of a project or a work shift etc.
• A channel of open water in an ice field.
• A lode.
• The course of a rope from end to end.
• A rope, leather strap, or similar device with which to lead an animal; a leash
• In a steam engine, the width of port opening which is uncovered by the valve, for the admission or release of steam, at the instant when the piston is at end of its stroke.
• The distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.
• The action of a tooth, such as a tooth of a wheel, in impelling another tooth or a pallet.
• Hypothesis that has not been pursued
• Information obtained by a detective or police officer that allows him or her to discover further details about a crime or incident.
• Potential opportunity for a sale or transaction, a potential customer.
• Information obtained by a news reporter about an issue or subject that allows him or her to discover more details.
• The player who throws the first two rocks for a team.
• The introductory paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper, or a news or other type of article. (Sometimes spelled as lede for this usage to avoid ambiguity.)
• An important news story that appears on the front page of a newspaper or at the beginning of a news broadcast
• The axial distance a screw thread travels in one revolution. It is equal to the pitch times the number of starts.
• In a barbershop quartet, the person who sings the melody, usually the second tenor.
• The announcement by one voice part of a theme to be repeated by the other parts.
• A mark or a short passage in one voice part, as of a canon, serving as a cue for the entrance of others.
• A primary synth, often composed of square, sawtooth, triangle or sine waveforms.
• The excess above a right angle in the angle between two consecutive cranks, as of a compound engine, on the same shaft.
• The angle between the line joining the brushes of a continuous-current dynamo and the diameter symmetrical between the poles.
• The advance of the current phase in an alternating circuit beyond that of the electromotive force producing it.

Verb

Verb Forms: leaded, leading, leads, led

• To show the way, go in advance, or guide others.
• To cover, treat, or weight with the heavy metallic element lead.
• take somebody somewhere
  • "We lead him to our chief"
• have as a result or residue
• tend to or result in
  • "This remark lead to further arguments among the guests"
• travel in front of; go in advance of others
• cause to undertake a certain action
• stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
• be in charge of
• be ahead of others; be the first
• be conducive to
  • "The use of computers in the classroom lead to better writing"
• lead, as in the performance of a composition
• lead, extend, or afford access
• move ahead (of others) in time or space
• cause something to pass or lead somewhere
• preside over
• To cover, fill, or affect with lead.
• To place leads between the lines of.
• To guide or conduct.
• To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection.
• To guide or conduct.
• To guide or conduct in a certain course, or to a certain place or end, by making the way known; to show the way, especially by going with or going in advance of, to lead a pupil; to guide somebody somewhere or to bring somebody somewhere by means of instructions.
• To guide or conduct.
• To direct; to counsel; to instruct
• To guide or conduct.
• To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; to command, especially a military or business unit.
• To guide or conduct.
• To guide or conduct oneself in, through, or along (a certain course); hence, to proceed in the way of; to follow the path or course of; to pass; to spend. Also, to cause (one) to proceed or follow in (a certain course).
• To guide or conduct, as by accompanying, going before, showing, influencing, directing with authority, etc.; to have precedence or preeminence; to be first or chief; — used in most of the senses of the transitive verb.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To proceed in front of others; to go first.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To be more advanced in technology or business than others.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To begin a game, round, or trick, with
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To be ahead of others, e.g., in a race.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To have the highest interim score in a game.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To step off base and move towards the next base.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• To aim in front of a moving target, in order that the shot may hit the target as it passes.
• To begin, to be ahead.
• Lead climb.
• To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure
• To tend or reach in a certain direction, or to a certain place.
• To live or experience (a particular way of life).
• Used in phrasal verbs: lead off, lead on, lead out, lead to (“be the cause of, bring about”), lead up, lead up to.
• Misspelling of led.
• Misspelling of led.

Adj

• Foremost.
• Main, principal, primary, first, chief, foremost.

Examples

• a dog leads a blind man
• a father leads a child
• A good teacher should lead their students to the right answer.
• a jockey leads a horse with a halter
• continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.
• He decided to LEAD his opponent’s potential triple word score by playing a blocking word.
• He led the ace of spades.
• It leads in the information technology sector.
• Joe is a great addition to our sales team, he has numerous leads in the paper industry.
• John is the development lead on this software product.
• leaded matter
• She hoped her opening play would LEAD her to a high-scoring game of Scrabble.
• She lost the lead.
• Smith managed to extend her lead over the second place to half a second.
• The batter always leads off base.
• the big sloop led the fleet of yachts;  the Guards led the attack;  Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages
• The contestants are all tied; no one has the lead position.
• The evidence leads me to believe he is guilty.
• The guide was able to lead the tourists through the jungle safely.
• The investigation stalled when all leads turned out to be dead ends.
• the lead developer on a software project
• the lead guitarist in band
• the path leads to the mill;  gambling leads to other vices
• The police have a couple of leads they will follow to solve the case.
• The runner took his lead from first.
• The standard-bearers led and the rest of the marchers followed.
• the white horse had the lead.
• They pumped him full of lead.
• This copy has too much lead; I prefer less space between the lines.
• to be in the lead
• to be under the lead of another
• to lead a page
• to lead a political party
• to lead someone to a righteous cause
• to lead the search team
• to lead trumps
• to take the lead
• You must remember to wear your leads.
• your partner has the lead

Synonyms

atomic number 82, booster cable, chair, conduce, conduct, confidential information, contribute, direct, extend, go, guide, head, hint, jumper cable, jumper lead, lead story, lead-in, leading, leash, leave, lede, moderate, pass, Pb, pencil lead, precede, principal, result, run, spark advance, star, steer, take, tether, tip, top, track, trail, wind, first, front, lead paragraph, leader, plumbum

Antonyms

deficit, follow

Related Words

TEL, anglesite, aplomb, cerussite, galena, lad, laddie, litharge, plumb, plumb dulcis, plumb-, plumb-joint, plumbagin, plumbago, plumballophane, plumbane, plumbary, plumbate, plumbator, plumbean, plumbeous, plumber, plumbian, plumbic, plumbicon, plumbiferous, plumbine, plumbing, plumbism, plumbisolvency, plumbisolvent, plumbite, plumbless, plumbly, plumbo-, plumbous, plumby, plummet

Anagrams of lead