lead


Definition: Meaning of, lead in English to English dictionary.

Pronunciation: / liːd /

  • verb
  • synonym
  • antonym
Word Forms:
Prsesent Past Past Participle
lead led led
Present Participle Third Person Singular
leading leads
  1. take somebody somewhere [intransitive and transitive] to take someone somewhere by going in front of them while they follow, or by pulling them gently
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  2. go in front [intransitive and transitive] to go in front of a line of people or vehicles
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  3. be in charge [intransitive and transitive] to be in charge of an organization, country, or team, or a group of people who are trying to do something
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  4. cause something to happen [intransitive and transitive] to cause something to happen or cause someone to do something
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  5. cause somebody to believe something [transitive] to make someone believe something, especially something that is not true
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  6. influence [transitive] to influence someone to make them do something that is wrong
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  7. be more successful [transitive] to be more successful than other people, companies, or countries in a particular activity
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  8. be winning [intransitive and transitive] to be winning a game, competition etc
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  9. path/door etc [intransitive,transitive always + adverb/preposition] used to say where a path, wire etc goes or what place is on the other side of a door
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  10. life [transitive] if you lead a particular kind of life, that is what your life is like
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  11. discussion etc [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to control the way a discussion, conversation etc develops
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  12. lead somebody up the garden path informal to deliberately deceive someone
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  13. lead somebody astray to encourage someone to do bad or immoral things, which they would not normally do
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  14. lead somebody astray to make someone believe something that is not true
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  15. lead nowhere/not lead anywhere to not produce any useful result
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  16. lead by example to show the people you are in charge of what you want them to do by doing it yourself
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  17. lead somebody by the nose to influence someone so much that you can completely control everything that they do
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  18. this/that leads (me) to something used to introduce a new subject that is connected to the previous one
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  19. somebody has their own life to lead used to say that someone wants to be able to live their life independently, without having to do things that other people want them to do
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  20. lead somebody a merry old dance/a right old dance British English to cause a lot of problems or worries for someone
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  21. market-led/export-led etc most influenced by the market, by EXPORT s etc
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  22. lead the eye if a picture, view etc leads the eye in a particular direction, it makes you look in that direction
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  23. card game [intransitive and transitive] to play a particular card as your first card in one part of a card game
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synonym
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  • noun
  • synonym
  • antonym
Word Forms:
Singular Plural
lead leads
  1. the lead the first position in a race or competition
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  2. [singular] the amount or distance by which one competitor is ahead of another
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  3. [singular] if someone follows someone else's lead, they do the same as the other person has done
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  4. take the lead (in doing something) to be the first to start doing something or be most active in doing something
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  5. [countable] a piece of information that may help you to solve a crime or mystery [=  clue]
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  6. [countable] the main acting part in a play, film etc, or the main actor
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  7. lead singer/guitarist etc the main singer, GUITARIST etc in a group
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  8. [countable] British English a piece of rope, leather, or chain for holding or controlling a dog [=  leash]
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  9. [countable] British English a wire used to connect a piece of electrical equipment to the power supply [=  cord American English]
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  10. [uncountable] a soft heavy grey metal that melts easily and is poisonous, used to cover roofs, or in the past, for water pipes. It is a chemical ELEMENT : symbol Pb
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  11. [uncountable and countable] the central part of a pencil that makes the marks when you write
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  12. go down like a lead balloon informal if a suggestion or joke goes down like a lead balloon, people do not like it at all
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  13. [uncountable] American English old-fashioned bullets
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  14. leads [plural] sheets of lead used for covering a roof
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  15. leads [plural] narrow pieces of lead used for holding small pieces of glass together to form a window
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synonym
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lead used in phrases

  • antimonial lead (noun)
    1. a lead alloy that contains about 5% antimony
  • black lead (noun)
    1. used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors
  • clip lead (noun)
    1. a short piece of wire with alligator clips on both ends
  • extension lead (noun)
    1. an additional piece of electric wire that you attach to another wire to make a very long one [=  extension]
  • green lead ore (noun)
    1. a mineral consisting of lead chloride and phosphate; a minor source of lead
  • hard lead (noun)
    1. a lead alloy that contains about 5% antimony
    2. unrefined lead that is hard because of the impurities it contains
  • in the lead (adverb)
    1. leading in a competition
    in the lead (adjective)
    1. having the leading position or higher score in a contest
  • jump lead (noun)
    1. a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire
  • jumper lead (noun)
    1. a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire
  • lead acetate (noun)
    1. Pb[CH3CO]2 a poisonous white solid used in dyeing cotton and in making enamels and varnishes
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lead used in phrasal verbs

  • lead into (phrasal verb)
  • lead off (phrasal verb)
    1. to begin something by doing or saying something
  • lead on (phrasal verb)
    1. lead someone on to encourage someone to do something or to expect something, especially by lying to them or promising them something that they cannot have
  • lead on to (phrasal verb)
  • lead to (phrasal verb)
    1. lead to or lead into or lead on to British English lead to something to begin a process that causes something to happen
    2. lead to something/lead someone to something to make someone think something
  • lead up to (phrasal verb)
    1. lead up to something if events, problems, actions etc lead up to an important event, they happen one after another in a way that makes it possible for the event to happen
    2. lead up to something to happen or exist immediately before something
  • lead with (phrasal verb)
    1. lead with something/lead something with something to begin a speech, news broadcast, story etc with a particular story or subject
    2. lead with something to begin an attack in boxing with a particular hand or hit
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