lead

/lˈɛd/ · 1 syllable

Meaning

verb

take somebody somewhere
“We lead him to our chief”
produce as a result or residue
“The water left a mark on the silk dress”
tend to or result in
“This remark lead to further arguments among the guests”
travel in front of; go in advance of others
“The procession was headed by John”
cause to undertake a certain action
“Her greed led her to forge the checks”
stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
“Service runs all the way to Cranbury”
be in charge of
“Who is heading this project?”
be ahead of others; be the first
“she topped her class every year”
be conducive to
“The use of computers in the classroom lead to better writing”
lead, as in the performance of a composition
“conduct an orchestra; Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for years”
lead, extend, or afford access
“This door goes to the basement”
move ahead (of others) in time or space

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 being the initiator of something and an example that others will follow (especially in the phrase `take the lead')
“he takes the lead in any group”
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
“he got a tip on the stock market”
a news story of major importance
the timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine

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