lead

English

Chemical element
Pb
Previous: thallium (Tl)
Next: bismuth (Bi)

Etymology 1

From Middle English led, leed, from Old English lēad (“lead”), from Proto-West Germanic *laud (“lead”), borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow”).

Cognate with Scots leid, lede (“lead”), North Frisian lud, luad (“lead”), West Frisian lead (“lead”), Dutch lood (“lead”), German Lot (“solder, plummet, sounding line”), Swedish lod (“lead”), Icelandic lóð (“a plumb, weight”), Irish luaidhe (“lead”) Latin plumbum (“lead”). Doublet of loth. More at flow.

(graphite in a pencil): Graphite was once believed to be a form of lead; see black lead and plumbago.

Pronunciation

enPR: lĕd, IPA^(key): /lɛd/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛd
Homophone: led

Noun

lead (countable and uncountable, plural leads)

Electrolytically refined pure lead

(uncountable) A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82, symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum).
(countable, nautical) A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea or (dated) to estimate velocity in knots.
A thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing.
(uncountable, typography) Vertical space in advance of a row or between rows of text. Also known as leading.
This copy has too much lead; I prefer less space between the lines.
Sheets or plates of lead used as a covering for roofs.
(plural leads) A roof covered with lead sheets or terne plates.
- 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Building:
  I would have the tower two stories, and goodly leads upon the top.
- 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 43, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, OCLC 2057953:
  These rooms were on a level with the apartments of our friends Bows and Costigan next door at No. 4; and by reaching over the communicating leads, Grady could command the mignonette-box which bloomed in Bows’s window.
(countable) A thin cylinder of graphite used in pencils.
(slang) bullets; ammunition.
They pumped him full of lead.

Derived terms

terms derived from the noun "lead"

acetate of lead
arm the lead
black lead
blue lead
cast the lead, heave the lead
chromate of lead
coasting lead
cold lead
deep-sea lead
eka-lead
go down like a lead balloon
hand lead
lap in lead
lay in lead
lead accumulator
lead acetate
lead-acid battery
lead-arming
lead arsenate
lead-ash, lead-ashes
lead-back
lead balloon
lead-bath
lead-blue
lead bronze
lead-brown
lead bullion
lead-burn
lead burning
lead carbonate
lead cell
lead chamber
lead chloride
lead climbing
lead colic
lead-colored, lead-coloured
lead color, lead colour
lead-comb
lead crystal
lead dichloride
lead dinitrate
lead dioxide
lead distemper
lead-eater
leaded
lead encephalopathy
lead-flat
lead-foot
lead-free
lead glance
lead glass
lead-glaze
lead-gray, lead-grey
lead hydrogen arsenate
lead in one's pencil
lead iodide
leadless
lead-light
lead-like
lead line
lead-man
lead-marcasite
lead mill
lead-nail
lead nitrate
lead ocher, lead ochre
lead oxide
lead paint
lead palsy
lead-paper
lead-papered
lead paralysis
lead pencil
lead peroxide
lead plant
lead-plaster
lead-poisoning
lead-pot
lead ratio
lead-reeve
lead selenide
lead-sinker
leadsman
lead-soap
lead-spar
lead-sugar
lead sulfide, lead sulphide
lead-swing
lead-swinger
lead-swinging
lead tetraethyl
lead tetroxide
lead-tin
lead-tree
lead vanadate
Leadville
lead-vitriol
lead-wash
lead-water
lead wool
lead-work
lead-works
lead-wort
leadzyme
Ledder
mock lead
pencil lead
red lead
red lead ore
sugar of lead
swing the lead
telluride of lead
tetraethyl lead
thorium lead
throw the lead
unleaded
uranium lead
uranium-lead dating
white lead

Translations

See lead/translations § Etymology 1.

Verb

lead (third-person singular simple present leads, present participle leading, simple past and past participle leaded)

(transitive) To cover, fill, or affect with lead.
continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.
(transitive, printing, historical) To place leads between the lines of.
to lead a page
leaded matter

Usage notes

Note carefully these three senses are verbs derived from the noun referring to the metallic element, and are unrelated to the heteronym defined below under #Etymology 2.

Translations

See lead/translations § Etymology 1.

Etymology 2

From Middle English leden, from Old English lǣdan (“to lead”), from Proto-West Germanic *laidijan, from Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (“to cause one to go, lead”), causative of Proto-Germanic *līþaną (“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyt- (“to leave, die”).

Cognate with West Frisian liede (“to lead”), Dutch leiden (“to lead”), German leiten (“to lead”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål lede (“to lead”), Norwegian Nynorsk leia (“to lead”), Swedish leda (“to lead”). Related to Old English līþan (“to go, travel”).

Alternative forms

lede, leed (both obsolete)

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) enPR: lēd, IPA^(key): /liːd/
(General American) IPA^(key): /lid/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -iːd
Homophones: leed, lede

Verb

lead (third-person singular simple present leads, present participle leading, simple past and past participle led)

(heading, transitive) To guide or conduct.
1. To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection.
  a father leads a child a jockey leads a horse with a halter a dog leads a blind man
  - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Matthew 15:14:
    If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall down in the ditch.
  - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Luke 4:29:
    They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill.
  - a. 1645, John Milton, “L’Allegro”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, OCLC 606951673:
    In thy right hand lead with thee / The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.
  - 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 271:
    As he was going home to the palace, he met an old woman leading a golden goose.
2. To guide or conduct in a certain course, or to a certain place or end, by making the way known; to show the way, especially by going with or going in advance of, to lead a pupil; to guide somebody somewhere or to bring somebody somewhere by means of instructions.
  The guide was able to lead the tourists through the jungle safely.
  - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Exodus 13:21:
    The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way.
  - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Psalms 23:2:
    He leadeth me beside the still waters.
  - 1673, John Milton, “[Sonnet] [Sonnet] XXI”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […], OCLC 1050806759:
    This thought might lead me through the world’s vain mask. Content, though blind, had I no better guide.
  - 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, OCLC 1650302:
    I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
3. (figuratively): To direct; to counsel; to instruct
  A good teacher should lead their students to the right answer.
4. To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; to command, especially a military or business unit.
  to lead a political party
  to lead the search team
  - 1664, Robert South, A Sermon Preached Before the University at Christ-Church, Oxon
    Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or possess places.
5. To guide or conduct oneself in, through, or along (a certain course); hence, to proceed in the way of; to follow the path or course of; to pass; to spend. Also, to cause (one) to proceed or follow in (a certain course).
  The evidence leads me to believe he is guilty.
  - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 1 Timothy 2:2:
    That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.
  - 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], OCLC 3968433, canto XXXIII:
    Nor thou with shadow'd hint confuse / A life that leads melodious days.
  - 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 61, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, OCLC 558196156:
    You remember […] the life he used to lead his wife and daughter.
(intransitive) To guide or conduct, as by accompanying, going before, showing, influencing, directing with authority, etc.; to have precedence or preeminence; to be first or chief; — used in most of the senses of the transitive verb.
(heading) To begin, to be ahead.
1. (transitive) To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among.
  the big sloop led the fleet of yachts; the Guards led the attack; Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages
  - 1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso
    As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way.
  - c. 1819, Leigh Hunt, Abou Ben Adhem
    And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
  - 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
    “Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
2. (intransitive) To lead off or out, to go first; to begin.
3. (intransitive) To be more advanced in technology or business than others.
4. (heading, sports)
  1. (transitive, card games, dominoes) To begin a game, round, or trick, with
    to lead trumps
    He led the ace of spades.
  2. (intransitive) To be ahead of others, e.g., in a race.
  3. (intransitive) To have the highest interim score in a game.
  4. (baseball) To step off base and move towards the next base.
    The batter always leads off base.
  5. (shooting) To aim in front of a moving target, in order that the shot may hit the target as it passes.
  6. (transitive, climbing) Lead climb.
(transitive) To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure
to lead someone to a righteous cause
- 1649, King Charles I of England, Eikon Basilike
  He was driven by the necessities of the times, more than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of actions.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 2 Timothy 3:6:
  Silly women, laden with sins, led away by divers lusts.
- 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
  Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.
(intransitive) To tend or reach in a certain direction, or to a certain place.
the path leads to the mill; gambling leads to other vices
- c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii]:
  The mountain-foot that leads towards Mantua.
- 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
  All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism. That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition. It is therefore dealing with pollution in two ways—suppression and mitigation.
To produce (with to).
The shock led to a change in his behaviour.
- 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
  The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. […] It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber. Other liquids produced in the refining process, too unstable or smoky for lamplight, were burned or dumped.
Misspelling of led.
(transitive) To live or experience (a particular way of life).

Derived terms

belead
forelead
forlead
forthlead
inlead
lead astray
lead by the nose
lead captive
leader
leading
lead someone down the garden path, lead someone up the garden path
lead the way
lead through
mislead
offlead
onlead
outlead
overlead
take the lead
underlead

Related terms

lad, laddie

Translations

See lead/translations § Etymology 2.

Noun

lead (countable and uncountable, plural leads)

(countable) The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction, course
to take the lead
to be under the lead of another
- 1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, […], 10th edition, London: […] J. Owen, […], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], OCLC 559505243:
  At the time I speak of, and having a momentary lead, […] I am sure I did my country important service.
(countable) Precedence; advance position; also, the measure of precedence; the state of being ahead in a race; the highest score in a game in an incomplete game.
the white horse had the lead.
to be in the lead
She lost the lead.
Smith managed to extend her lead over the second place to half a second.
- 2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC‎:
  Blackburn then regained the lead with a simplest of set-piece goals
(UK, countable) An insulated metallic wire for electrical devices and equipment.
(baseball) The situation where a runner steps away from a base while waiting for the pitch to be thrown.
The runner took his lead from first.
(uncountable, card games, dominoes) The act or right of playing first in a game or round; the card suit, or piece, so played
your partner has the lead
(acting) The main role in a play or film; the lead role.
- 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 43:
  "You make moving pictures. In jungles and places." "That's me. And I've picked you for the lead in my next picture."
(acting) The actor who plays the main role; lead actor.
(business) The person in charge of a project or a work shift etc.
John is the development lead on this software product.
(countable) A channel of open water in an ice field.
(countable, mining) A lode.
(nautical) The course of a rope from end to end.
A rope, leather strap, or similar device with which to lead an animal; a leash
In a steam engine, the width of port opening which is uncovered by the valve, for the admission or release of steam, at the instant when the piston is at end of its stroke.
- Usage note: When used alone it means outside lead, or lead for the admission of steam. Inside lead refers to the release or exhaust.
(civil engineering) The distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.
(horology) The action of a tooth, such as a tooth of a wheel, in impelling another tooth or a pallet.
Hypothesis that has not been pursued
The investigation stalled when all leads turned out to be dead ends.
Information obtained by a detective or police officer that allows him or her to discover further details about a crime or incident.
The police have a couple of leads they will follow to solve the case.
(marketing) Potential opportunity for a sale or transaction, a potential customer.
Joe is a great addition to our sales team, he has numerous leads in the paper industry.
Information obtained by a news reporter about an issue or subject that allows him or her to discover more details.
(curling) The player who throws the first two rocks for a team.
(newspapers) A teaser; a lead-in; the start of a newspaper column, telling who, what, when, where, why and how. (Sometimes spelled as lede for this usage to avoid ambiguity.)
An important news story that appears on the front page of a newspaper or at the beginning of a news broadcast
(engineering) The axial distance a screw thread travels in one revolution. It is equal to the pitch times the number of starts.
(music) In a barbershop quartet, the person who sings the melody, usually the second tenor
(music) The announcement by one voice part of a theme to be repeated by the other parts.
(music) A mark or a short passage in one voice part, as of a canon, serving as a cue for the entrance of others.
(engineering) The excess above a right angle in the angle between two consecutive cranks, as of a compound engine, on the same shaft.
(electrical) The angle between the line joining the brushes of a continuous-current dynamo and the diameter symmetrical between the poles.
(electrical) The advance of the current phase in an alternating circuit beyond that of the electromotive force producing it.

Usage notes

Note that these noun (attributive) uses are all derived from the verb, not the chemical element in #Etymology 1.

Derived terms

terms derived from the noun lead

bury the lead
lead angle
lead in
lead pursuit
lead role
lead screw
power lead
take the lead

Translations

See lead/translations § Etymology 2.

Adjective

lead (not comparable)

(not comparable) Foremost.
The contestants are all tied; no one has the lead position.
- 2006, Ronald Mak, The Martian Principles for Successful Enterprise Systems:
  For the first time ever, the senior architect and lead developer for a key enterprise system on NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover mission shares the secrets to one of the most difficult technology tasks […]
Synonyms: first, front, head, leader, leading
Main, principal, primary, first, chief, foremost.
the lead guitarist in band
the lead developer on a software project
- 2017 August 25, "Arrest threat as Yingluck Shinawatra misses verdict", in aljazeera.com, Al Jazeera:
  Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's ex-prime minister, has missed a verdict in a negligence trial that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to say it will issue an arrest warrant fearing she is a flight risk, according to the lead judge in the case.

Verb

lead

Misspelling of led.

References

lead in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

ALDE, Adel, Dale, Deal, Dela, E.D. La., Lade, Leda, adle, dale, deal, lade

Hungarian

Etymology

le- +‎ ad

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈlɛɒd]
Hyphenation: le‧ad
Rhymes: -ɒd

Verb

lead

(transitive) to pass down, hand down, turn in, drop off
(transitive) to lose weight, usually as a result of some kind of training or exercise

Conjugation

conjugation of lead

			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indicative mood	Present	Indef.	leadok	leadsz	lead	leadunk	leadtok	leadnak
		Def.	leadom	leadod	leadja	leadjuk	leadjátok	leadják
		2nd-p. o.	leadlak	―
	Past	Indef.	leadtam	leadtál	leadott	leadtunk	leadtatok	leadtak
		Def.	leadtam	leadtad	leadta	leadtuk	leadtátok	leadták
		2nd-p. o.	leadtalak	―
Conditional mood	Present	Indef.	leadnék	leadnál	leadna	leadnánk	leadnátok	leadnának
		Def.	leadnám	leadnád	leadná	leadnánk (or leadnók)	leadnátok	leadnák
		2nd-p. o.	leadnálak	―
Subjunctive mood	Present	Indef.	leadjak	leadj or leadjál	leadjon	leadjunk	leadjatok	leadjanak
		Def.	leadjam	leadd or leadjad	leadja	leadjuk	leadjátok	leadják
		2nd-p. o.	leadjalak	―
Infinitive	leadni		leadnom	leadnod	leadnia	leadnunk	leadnotok	leadniuk
Other nonfinite verb forms			Verbal noun	Present participle	Past participle	Future part.	Adverbial part.	Potential
Other nonfinite verb forms			leadás	leadó	leadott	leadandó	leadva	leadhat

Derived terms

leadás

Expressions

leadja a voksát

Middle English

Noun

lead

Alternative form of led (“lead”)

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *laud.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /læ͜ɑːd/

Noun

lēad n

lead

Declension

Declension of lead (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	lēad	—
accusative	lēad	—
genitive	lēades	—
dative	lēade	—

Derived terms

līeden

Descendants

Middle English: led, lead, lede, leed, leod, leyd, leyt; læd
- English: lead
- Scots: leid, lede
- Yola: leed

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English lead.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lit/
Rhymes: -it
Syllabification: lead

Noun

lead m inan

(newspapers, journalism) lead paragraph, teaser, lead-in (start of a newspaper column, telling who, what, when, where, why and how)

Declension

Declension of lead

	singular	plural
nominative	lead	leady
genitive	leadu	leadów
dative	leadowi	leadom
accusative	lead	leady
instrumental	leadem	leadami
locative	leadzie	leadach
vocative	leadzie	leady

lead

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

Usage notes

Translations

See also

Further reading

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

Usage notes

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

Verb

References

Anagrams

Hungarian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

Middle English

Noun

Old English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

Polish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Further reading