1lead1 (liːd
)
Definitions
verb
Word forms: leads, leading, led, lɛd
- to show the way to (an individual or a group) by going with or ahead ⇒
lead the party into the garden
- to guide or be guided by holding, pulling, etc ⇒
he led the horse by its reins
- (tr) to cause to act, feel, think, or behave in a certain way; induce; influence ⇒
he led me to believe that he would go
- (tr) to phrase a question to (a witness) that tends to suggest the desired answer
- intr, foll by to (of a road, route, etc) to serve as the means of reaching a place
- (tr) to go ahead so as to indicate (esp in the phrase lead the way)
- to guide, control, or direct ⇒
to lead an army
- (tr) to direct the course of or conduct (water, a rope or wire, etc) along or as if along a channel
- to initiate the action of (something); have the principal part in (something) ⇒
to lead a discussion
- to go at the head of or have the top position in (something) ⇒
he leads his class in geography
- (intr) with to have as the first or principal item ⇒
the newspaper led with the royal birth
- music
- British to play first violin in (an orchestra)
- (intr) (of an instrument or voice) to be assigned an important entry in a piece of music
- to direct and guide (one's partner) in a dance
- (tr)
- to pass or spend ⇒
I lead a miserable life
- to cause to pass a life of a particular kind ⇒
to lead a person a dog's life
- to pass or spend ⇒
- (intr) to to tend (to) or result (in) ⇒
this will only lead to misery
- to initiate a round of cards by putting down (the first card) or to have the right to do this ⇒
she led a diamond
- (tr) to aim at a point in front of (a moving target) in shooting, etc, in order to allow for the time of flight
- (intr) boxing to make an offensive blow, esp as one's habitual attacking punch ⇒
southpaws lead with their right
- See lead astray
- See lead by the nose
noun
- the first, foremost, or most prominent place
- ((as modifier) ⇒
lead singer
- example, precedence, or leadership ⇒
the class followed the teacher's lead
- an advance or advantage held over others ⇒
the runner had a lead of twenty yards
- anything that guides or directs; indication; clue
- another name for leash
- the act or prerogative of playing the first card in a round of cards or the card so played
- the principal role in a play, film, etc, or the person playing such a role
- the principal news story in a newspaper ⇒
the scandal was the lead in the papers
- the opening paragraph of a news story
- ((as modifier) ⇒
lead story
- the principal news story in a newspaper ⇒
- music an important entry assigned to one part usually at the beginning of a movement or section
- a wire, cable, or other conductor for making an electrical connection
- boxing
- one's habitual attacking punch
- a blow made with this
- nautical the direction in which a rope runs
- a deposit of metal or ore; lode
- the firing of a gun, missile, etc, ahead of a moving target to correct for the time of flight of the projectile
Word Origin
Old English lǣdan; related to līthan to travel, Old High German līdan to go2lead2 (lɛd)
Definitions
noun
- 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 plumbicplumbeousplumbous
- a lead weight suspended on a line used to take soundings of the depth of water
- See swing the lead
- lead weights or shot, as used in cartridges, fishing lines, etc
- a thin grooved strip of lead for holding small panes of glass or pieces of stained glass
- (plural)
- thin sheets or strips of lead used as a roof covering
- a flat or low-pitched roof covered with such sheets
- printing a thin strip of type metal used for spacing between lines of hot-metal type Compare reglet (sense 2)
- graphite or a mixture containing graphite, clay, etc, used for drawing
- a thin stick of this material, esp the core of a pencil
- (modifier) of, consisting of, relating to, or containing lead
- See go down like a lead balloon
verb (tr)
- to fill or treat with lead
- to surround, cover, or secure with lead or leads
- printing to space (type) by use of leads
Alternative Forms
ˈleadless adjective ˈleady adjectiveWord Origin
Old English; related to Dutch lood, German LotTranslations
- British English:
lead
Lead is a soft, grey, heavy metal.lɛd NOUN
- Spanish:
plomo
nm
- French:
plomb
nm
- German:
Blei
nnt
- Chinese: 铅 n
- Arabic: رَصَاصٌ n
- Portuguese: chumbo nm
- Russian: свинец nm
- Croatian: olovo nnt
- Czech: olovo nnt
- Danish: bly nnt
- Dutch: lood nnt
- Finnish: lyijy n
- Greek: μόλυβδος nm
- Italian: piombo nm
- Japanese: 鉛 n
- Korean: 납 n
- Norwegian: bly nnt
- Polish: ołów nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: chumbo nm
- European Spanish:
plomo
nm
- Swedish: bly nnt
- Thai: ตะกั่ว n
- Turkish: kurşun n
- Vietnamese: chì n
- British English:
lead
The lead in a play, film, or show is the most important role in it.She recently played the lead in a film.liːd NOUN She recently played the lead in a film.
- Spanish: papel principal nm
- French: rôle principal nm
- German:
Hauptrolle
nf
- Chinese: 领衔主演 n
- Arabic: دَوْرٌ رَئِيسِيٌّ n
- Portuguese: papel principal nm
- Russian: главная роль nf
- Croatian: vodeća uloga nf
- Czech: hlavní role nf
- Danish: hovedrolle nutr
- Dutch: hoofdrol n
- Finnish: pääosa n
- Greek: πρωταγωνιστής nm πρωταγωνίστρια
- Italian: protagonista nm__nf
- Japanese: 主役 n
- Korean: 주연 n
- Norwegian: hovedrolle nm
- Polish: główna rola nf
- Brazilian Portuguese: papel principal nm
- European Spanish: papel principal nm
- Swedish: huvudroll nutr
- Thai: ผู้นำ n
- Turkish: başrol n
- Vietnamese: vai chính n
- British English:
lead
If you are in the lead in a race or competition, you are winning.Our team was in the lead after ten minutes.liːd NOUN Our team was in the lead after ten minutes.
- Spanish: artículo de cabecera nm
- French:
gros titre
nm
- German:
Aufmacher
nm Aufmacher
- Chinese: 新闻头版 n
- Arabic: مَقَالٌ رَئِيسِيٌّ فِي صَحِيفَةٍ n
- Portuguese: informação nf
- Russian: ведущее сообщение nnt
- Croatian: glavna vijest nf
- Czech: stopa nf
- Danish: forsidehistorie nutr
- Dutch: hoofdartikel nnt
- Finnish: pääuutinen n
- Greek: κύρια είδηση nf
- Italian: traccia nf
- Japanese: トップ記事 n
- Korean: 머리글 n
- Norwegian: hovedoppslag nnt
- Polish: streszczenie nnt
- Brazilian Portuguese: primeiro lugar nm
- European Spanish: artículo de cabecera nm
- Swedish: förstasidesnyhet nutr
- Thai: หัวข้อข่าว n
- Turkish: ana n
- Vietnamese: tin tức n
- British English:
lead
If you lead someone to a place, you take them there.I took his hand and started to lead him into the house.liːd VERB I took his hand and started to lead him into the house.
- Spanish:
encabezar
v
- French:
mener
vt
- German:
führen
v
- Chinese: 领导 vt
- Arabic: يُقَيِّدُ vt
- Portuguese: conduzir vt
- Russian: вести vt
- Croatian: voditi v
- Czech: zavést vt vést
- Danish: lede v
- Dutch: leiden vt
- Finnish: johtaa v
- Greek: καθοδηγώ v
- Italian: condurre v
- Japanese: 導く v
- Korean: (남을) 인도하다 vt
- Norwegian: lede v
- Polish: doprowadzić vt prowadzić
- Brazilian Portuguese: conduzir vt
- European Spanish:
encabezar
v
- Swedish: leda vt
- Thai: นำ vt
- Turkish: yol göstermek vt
- Vietnamese: lãnh đạo v
Usage examples
They came on to an open expanse, a football pitch, and he let the dog off the lead.
, THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (2002)The recent run of mild winters is likely to lead to generations of stoats that stay brown all year.
Country Life (2004)His booking will lead to a suspension against Roma next week.
Irish Times (2002)CHILDREN exposed to lead at levels now considered safe have scored substantially lower on intelligence tests in the US.
Glasgow Herald (2001)If we do not know this about ourselves we make decisions about how we live our lives which lead to nothing but misery.
, BEYOND FEAR (2002)