lead

lead¹ [li:d]

verb (past and past participle led)

1》 cause (a person or animal) to go with one by drawing them along.

    ↘show (someone) the way to a destination by preceding or accompanying them.

    ↘(lead someone on) deceive someone into believing that one is attracted to them.

2》 (usu. lead to) be a route or means of access to a particular place.

    ↘culminate or result in.

    ↘(lead someone to/to do something) be someone's reason or motive for.

    ↘(lead up to) precede or provide an introduction to.

    ↘(often lead (off) with) begin a report or text with a particular item.

3》 be in charge or command of.

4》 have the advantage in a race or game.

    ↘be superior to (a competitor).

5》 have or experience (a particular way of life).

6》 (lead with) Boxing make an attack with (a particular punch or fist).

7》 (in card games) play (the first card) in a trick or round of play.

noun

1》 the initiative in an action: Britain should be taking the environmental lead.

2》 (the lead) a position of advantage in a contest; first place.

    ↘an amount by which a competitor is ahead of the others.

3》 the chief part in a play or film.

    ↘[as modifier] playing the chief part in a musical group: the lead singer.

    ↘[as modifier] denoting the principal item in a report or text: the lead article.

4》 a clue to be followed in the resolution of a problem.

5》 Brit. a strap or cord for restraining and guiding a dog.

6》 Brit. a wire conveying electric current from a source to an appliance, or connecting two points of a circuit together.

7》 the distance advanced by a screw in one turn.

8》 (in card games) an act or right of playing first in a trick or round of play.

9》 an artificial watercourse leading to a mill.

    ↘a channel of water in an ice field.

Phrases

lead someone astray cause someone to act or think foolishly or wrongly.

lead someone up (or down) the garden path informal give someone misleading clues or signals.

lead with one's chin informal

1》 (of a boxer) leave one's chin unprotected.

2》 behave or speak incautiously.

Origin

OE ldan, of Gmc origin; related to load and lode.

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lead² [lɛd]

noun

1》 a heavy bluish-grey soft ductile metal, the chemical element of atomic number 82. (Symbol: Pb)

2》 graphite used as the part of a pencil that makes a mark.

3》 Printing a blank space between lines of print (originally created by a metal strip).

4》 Nautical a lump of lead suspended on a line to determine the depth of water.

5》 (leads) Brit. sheets or strips of lead covering a roof.

6》 (leads) lead frames holding the glass of a lattice or stained-glass window.

Phrases

go down (or N. Amer. over) like a lead balloon informal (of a speech, proposal, or joke) be poorly received.

Origin

OE lēad, of W. Gmc origin.