Lead | Mean of lead in English Dictionary

/ˈliːd/

• Verb
• to guide someone to a place especially by going in front
1. You lead and we'll follow right behind you.
2. He led [=took] me into a room in the back of the house.
3. You lead us and we'll follow right behind you.
4. The teacher led the child by the hand to his seat. = The teacher took the child's hand and led him to his seat.
5. Our hostess led us to the dinner table.
6. The passengers were led onto/aboard the ship by the steward.
7. The prisoner was led off to jail [=was taken to jail] in handcuffs.
8. I gradually led the interview around/back to the subject of his failed marriage.
9. He says that he will follow the evidence wherever it leads (him).
10. This leads me to my next point, which is that the building needs a new roof.
11. The painting's composition leads the/your eye to the figures in the foreground. [=causes you to look at the figures in the foreground]
• to go or be at the front part of (something)
1. The veterans will lead a parade down Main Street.
2. lead a march
• to lie or go in a specified direction
1. The path leads uphill.
2. This road doesn't lead to the village as we thought it did.
3. a set of stairs that leads down to the basement
4. There was a path leading (off) from the meadow into the woods.
5. She realized that their relationship would never lead to marriage.
6. The investigation into the murder was leading nowhere. [=the investigation was not solving the crime]

• to guide the actions of a person or group
1. We need to elect someone who can lead.
2. bosses who lead by example [=who show employees how they should act by acting that way themselves]
3. She leads her employees by setting a good example for them.
4. She led a successful boycott of the store.
5. lead an expedition
6. A visiting professor will be leading the seminar.
7. lead [=direct] an orchestra
8. She led the children in a song. [=she sang a song and the children sang with her]
• to cause (a person, group, etc.) to do something or to follow some course of action
1. Her interest in art led her into the field of art history.
2. His volunteer work in the hospital led him to a career in nursing. = His volunteer work in the hospital led [=inspired] him to become a nurse.
3. Her experience with cancer led her to consider writing a book on the subject.
4. The evidence leads me to believe [=makes me believe] that this disease is curable.
5. We've been led to believe that the labels on food items disclose all ingredients, but it's becoming clear that this is not the case.
6. I had been led to expect that someone would meet me at the airport, but no one came.
7. He led me to understand [=he told me or caused me to think] that the deadline was January 7.
• to be first, best, or ahead in a race or competition
1. the team that is currently leading in the pennant race
2. At the end of the fourth inning, the Red Sox led by two runs.
3. lead a race
4. They led their opponents by 20 points at the end of the third quarter.
5. the team that is leading the league [=the team that is in first place]
6. a batter who leads the league in home runs [=who has hit more home runs than any other batter]
7. a runner who is leading the pack/field [=a runner who is ahead of the group of other runners]
8. Their company leads the world [=is the most successful company in the world] in developing new technology to assist people with disabilities.
• to go through (life) in a certain way
1. They chose to lead [=live] a quiet life.
2. He leads a peaceful existence.
3. It turned out that he had been leading a double life. [=deceiving people about his life, not telling the whole truth about his life]
4. He has always led a charmed life. [=he has always been lucky]
5. She needs to lead her own life. [=she needs to make her own decisions about her life]
• to begin play in a card game with (a certain card or kind of card)
1. lead trumps
2. led a spade
3. lead with a spade
• to guide a dance partner through the steps of a dance
1. I don't know this dance, so I'd prefer it if you lead.
• to ask (a witness) a question in a way that suggests what the answer should be
1. The judge ruled that the lawyer was leading the witness.
• to start something (such as an activity or performance) in a specified way
1. She led off [=started, kicked off] the presentation with a brief overview of the project.
2. She led off [=began] with a brief overview of the project.
• to be the first batter in an inning
1. He led off with a walk. [=he was the first batter in his team's half of the inning and he was walked]
2. He led off the inning with a home run.
• to cause (someone) to wrongly continue believing or doing something
1. She was devastated when she found out that he didn't really love her, and had only been leading her on. [=he had been leading her to believe that he loved her]
• to cause a series of troubles or worries for (someone)
1. He led me a merry chase before I finally got him to agree to a meeting.
• to deceive someone
1. He believes the average consumer is being led down the garden path by the promises in advertisements.
• to be the first person to go somewhere
1. You lead the way, and we'll follow.
2. Their company led the way in developing this technology. [=was the first to have success developing the technology]
• to result in (something)
1. a course of study leading to a degree in agriculture
2. Her investigations ultimately led to the discovery of the missing documents.
3. His volunteer work in the hospital led to a career in nursing. = His volunteer work in the hospital led to him becoming a nurse.
• to occur in the time that comes before (something)
1. Many voters were still undecided in the days leading up to [=approaching] the election.
• to come before and help to cause (something)
1. There was a series of errors leading up to the accident.
• to come before and help to introduce (something)
1. a chapter leading up to the main topic of the book
2. I had no idea what he was leading up to when he started talking about his father.
• to begin something (such as a story or speech) with (something specified)
1. The newspaper story led [=opened, began] with a long report on the funeral.
• to begin a series of punches in boxing with (a punch thrown by a specified hand)
1. The champion led with a left to the body, followed up quickly with a right to the jaw.
• Noun
• a position that is ahead of others
1. They walked single file, with the oldest boy in the lead. [=with the oldest boy at the front of the line]
2. You take the lead [=go first] and we'll follow right behind you.
• a position that is ahead of others in a race or competition
1. A runner from Kenya is in the lead in the race. [=is leading the race]
2. A runner from Kenya has/holds the lead.
3. Her car has taken/gained the lead. = Her car has gone to/into the lead.
4. He was trailing in the polls last week, but now he has regained the lead.
5. Their company has taken the lead in developing this new technology.
• the amount or distance by which someone or something is ahead in a race or competition
1. Her car had a lead of 12 seconds over the next one.
2. They had a lead of 20 points. = They had a 20-point lead.
3. a narrow/slim lead
4. Our candidate has established a comfortable/commanding lead in the opinion polls.
• a piece of information that could help produce a desired result
1. I'm a good salesman, but I need more leads. [=names of potential customers]
• a piece of information that might help in solving a crime
1. The police have no leads in the case.
2. Investigators are working on several leads.
• the main role in a movie or play
1. Her big break came when she got/played the lead in a major Hollywood movie.
2. He played the lead opposite Bette Davis [=he starred with Bette Davis] in two films.
3. She got the lead role.
• someone who plays the main role in movie or play
1. She was the romantic lead in a major Hollywood movie.
2. Who will be the male/female lead in his next film?
• the main performer in a group
1. He sang/played lead [=sang/played as the main performer] in the band.
2. the lead singer/guitarist
• the beginning part of a news story
1. You should edit the lead so that it will grab the audience's attention.
• the most important news story in a newspaper or broadcast
1. The story of his arrest was the lead in newspapers across the country.
2. His arrest was the lead story [=the first and most important story] on the evening news.
• a position taken by a runner at a distance from a base before a pitch is thrown
1. The runner on first took a big lead. [=moved several steps toward second base]
2. The runner had a large lead off second base. [=stood several steps away from second base in the space between second and third base]
• a wire that carries electricity from a source to an electrical device (such as a lamp or radio)
• to do the same thing that someone else has done
1. He followed her lead and voted in favor of the proposal.
• a heavy and soft metal that has a gray color
1. a pipe made of lead
2. a lead pipe
3. lead crystal [=glass made with lead in it]
4. lead poisoning [=poisoning from eating, drinking, or touching something with lead in it]
5. lead-free gasoline [=gasoline that does not contain lead]
• a thin stick of dark material used in pencils to make marks
1. a pencil with black lead
2. a lead pencil
3. pencils with broken leads
• bullets
1. They shot him full of lead.
• to begin going or moving more quickly
1. Get the lead out! If we don't leave in five minutes we'll be late for the movie!