Definition of “lead” - English Dictionary

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“lead” in English

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leadverb

uk ​ /liːd/ us ​ /liːd/ led, led uk ​ /led/ us ​

lead verb (BE WINNING)

B2 [ I or T ] (especially in sports or other competitions) to be in front, to be first, or to be winning:

After 30 minutes the challengers were leading by two goals.
With two laps to go Ngomo led by less than two seconds.
The Lions are leading the Hawks 28–9.

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lead verb (INFLUENCE)

C2 [ T ] to cause someone to do something, especially something bad:

[ + to infinitive ] The brochure led me to believe that the price included home delivery.
It's worrying that such a prominent politician is so easily led.
He was a weak man, led astray by ambition.

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lead verb (SHOW WAY)

B1 [ I ] to show the way to a group of people, animals, vehicles, etc. by going in front of them:

I don't know the way, so you'd better lead.
If you lead in the jeep, we'll follow behind on the horses.

› [ T ] To lead a group of moving people or vehicles is to walk or drive in front of them:

The local youth band will lead the parade this weekend.
A large black hearse led the funeral procession.

B1 [ T usually + adv/prep ] to take someone somewhere, by going with them:

She led them down the hall.
The waiter led us to our table.
Our guide led us through the mountains.

B1 [ T usually + adv/prep ] to take hold of a person or animal and take him, her, or it somewhere:

She took the child by the hand and led him upstairs to bed.
He led the horse out of the stable.
lead the way

› to show the way by going in front:

You've been there before - why don't you lead the way?

› to make more progress than other people in the development of something:

The company has been leading the way in network applications for several years.

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Idiom(s)

lead sb a (merry) dance
lead sb by the nose
lead sb up the garden path
lead the field/pack/world

Phrasal verb(s)

lead off
lead sb on
lead to sth
lead up to sth
lead with sth

leadnoun

uk ​ /liːd/ us ​ /liːd/

lead noun (WINNING POSITION)

B2 uk ​ /liːd/ us ​ [ S ] a winning position during a race or other situation where people are competing:

For the first time in the race Harrison is in the lead.
With a final burst of speed she went/moved into the lead.
After last night's win Johnson has taken (over) the lead in the championship table.
By the end of the day's play Davies had a lead of three points.

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lead noun (INFORMATION)

› [ C ] a piece of information that allows a discovery to be made or a solution to be found:

A lead from an informer enabled the police to make several arrests.

leadadjective [ before noun ]

uk ​ /liːd/ us ​ /liːd/

leadnoun [ U ]

uk ​ /led/ us ​ /led/

lead noun [ U ] (SUBSTANCE)

› [ U ] symbol Pb a chemical element that is a very heavy, soft, dark grey, poisonous metal, used especially in the past on roofs and for pipes and also for protection against radiation:

lead pipes

› [ C or U ] (the narrow strip of) coloured material, usually black and made of graphite, in the centre of a pencil

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Idiom(s)

go down like a lead balloon

(Definition of “lead” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“lead” in American English

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leadverb

us ​ /lid/ past tense and past participle led /led/

lead verb (CONTROL)

› [ T ] to manage or control a group of people; to be the person who makes decisions that other people choose to follow or obey:

Her sister is leading an effort to change this law.
I’ve asked George to lead the discussion.

lead verb (SHOW WAY)

› [ I/T ] to show the way to someone or something, esp. by going first:

[ T ] She led the children along the path out of the forest.
[ T ] That research group leads the way in the development of new software.
[ T ] Just follow the signs and they will lead you to the exit.

› [ I/T ] If something such as a road or sign leads somewhere, it goes toward something else or shows you how to get to a particular place:

[ I ] A flight of narrow stairs leads to the kitchen.

lead verb (CAUSE)

› [ I/T ] to prepare the way for something to happen; cause:

[ I ] Ten years of scientific research led to the development of the new drug.
[ T ] Discussions with lawyers led him to believe that the company would not sue him.

lead verb (BE FIRST)

› [ I/T ] (esp. in sports or other competitions) to be in front, be first, or be winning:

[ I/T ] With only three minutes to go in the football game, New Orleans led (Dallas), 24 to 21.

lead verb (LIVE)

› [ T ] to live a particular type of life:

She retired to Florida and still leads a busy life.

Idiom(s)

lead the way
lead the way (somewhere)

Phrasal verb(s)

lead off (something)
lead up to something
lead with something

leadnoun

us ​ /lid/

lead noun (ANIMAL)

› [ C ] a leash

lead noun (BE FIRST)

› [ U ] A lead is also the amount or distance by which someone is in front:

After five games, she was still ahead by a point in the chess tournament, but her lead was shrinking.

lead noun (SHOW WAY)

› [ C ] a piece of information that allows a discovery to be made or a solution to be found:

The lead the detectives were following led to several arrests.

leadnoun [ U ]

us ​ /led/

lead noun [ U ] (METAL)

› a dense, soft, dark gray metal, used esp. in combination with other metals and in batteries (= devices that produce electricity):

Lead pipes in many older houses have been replaced by copper ones.
fig. The day after running a marathon, my legs felt like lead (= heavy and tired).

lead noun [ U ] (PENCIL)

› the black writing material made of graphite, used esp. in the center of a pencil

(Definition of “lead” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“lead” in Business English

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leadverb

uk ​ /liːd/ us ​ led /led/ , led /led/

› [ T ] to be in charge of a group of people, an organization, or a situation:

They led a management buy-out of the business, raising €10m in capital.
She has been promoted to lead a team that focuses on product development.
He leads the company's worldwide marketing and sales division.

› [ I or T ] to be in front, be first, or be winning in a particular situation or area of business:

German, Swiss, and Scandinavian banks lead the internet-based financial services market in Europe.

› [ T ] to happen before something else happens:

The company has improved operating performance, led by cost reduction efforts and productivity gains.

› to influence someone to do sth:

lead sb/sth to do sth Sharply lower profit has led the company to begin an aggressive cost-cutting plan.
lead from the front

› to be actively involved in what you are encouraging others to do:

The chairman needs to lead from the front and try to resolve the conflicts.
lead the field/pack/world

› to be better or more successful than other people or things:

For ISAs, building societies again led the pack, with 16 of the 20 top-paying providers.
lead the way

› to make more progress than other people in the development of something:

lead the way in/on sth The nation's largest state has led the way in higher education and energy conservation.
Experts said women tend to lead the way on issues related to health.

Phrasal verb(s)

lead to sth
lead up to sth

leadnoun

uk ​ /liːd/ uk ​ /led/ us ​

› [ S ] a winning position in a situation in which people are competing:

give sb/sth a lead The brand will give the company a commanding lead in the important new sector.
have/increase/maintain a lead (over sb/sth) The group's market share rose to 42.9%, increasing its lead over their arch-rival, which has 37.6%.
Goldman maintained its lead as top manager of negotiated sales.

› [ C, usually singular ] an action or example that shows a person or group what to do:

Most competitors will in any case be only too happy to follow the company's lead in raising prices.
take a lead from sb/sth We could take a lead from Finland, where a government programme has dramatically raised the intake of fruit and vegetables.
take a lead on sth The supermarket group took a lead on GM food labelling.

› [ C ] MARKETING a piece of information that allows a discovery to be made, customers to be found, or a solution to be found:

Our business meeting gave me lots of good leads.

leadadjective [ before noun ]

uk ​ /liːd/ us ​

› most important among a group of people, products, etc.:

a lead company/product The company's lead product for lung and certain blood cancers is in Phase II trials in humans.
The lead negotiator for the teachers' union said he wasn't surprised by the vote.
play a lead role in sth They have played a lead role in the fast and furious growth of e-commerce.

(Definition of “lead” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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lead

In any event, when dormant in nature, depleted uranium is no more dangerous than the lead in hunting cartridges or in water pipes.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
In practice this would lead to rules that are open to interpretation, and would weaken our credibility and our ultimate objectives in coordinating economic policy even further.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Furthermore, the automobile federations' measures will lead to distortions with regard to employment, and, in particular, in the field of sport, which will also be extremely damaging.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
We have broken new ground with the discharge procedure for 2001 because rules have come into force that are not always clear and may lead to difficulties.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Furthermore, the directive provides benefits from the point of view of the security of energy supply and it may eventually lead to the creation of employment in rural areas.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Re-use and commercial exploitation of public information, as proposed by the rapporteur, will lead to a real information society for all.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Might the reason lie in the fact that environmental policy costs money initially and does not lead to profits that are readily measurable?
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Will the border arrangements be eased, or will the borders lead to a real and tangible division by separating ethnic groups and severing existing relations?
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
High-wire negotiations only lead to mistrust.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The necessary measure to combat these diseases would lead to an overall lifting of the quality of life for some of the world's poorest people.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
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