lead

I

[[t]lid[/t]]

v. led, lead•ing, n. adj.

1) to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort; guide:

to lead a group on a hike[/ex]

2) to conduct by holding and guiding:

to lead a horse by a rope[/ex]

3) to influence or induce; cause:

What led her to change her mind?[/ex]

4) to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring:

You can lead him around to your point of view[/ex]

5) to go through or pass (time, life, etc.):

to lead a full life[/ex]

6) to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course

7) (of a road, passage, etc.) to serve to bring (a person) to a place:

The next street will lead you to the post office[/ex]

8) to take or bring:

The visitors were led into the senator's office[/ex]

9) to be in control or command of; direct:

He led the British forces during the war[/ex]

10) to go at the head of or in advance of (a procession, list, body, etc.); proceed first in:

The mayor will lead the parade[/ex]

11) to be superior to; have the advantage over:

The first baseman leads his teammates in runs batted in[/ex]

12) to have top position or first place in:

Iowa leads the nation in corn production[/ex]

13) to have the directing or principal part in:

Who is going to lead the discussion?[/ex]

14) to act as leader of (an orchestra, band, etc.); conduct

15) gam to begin a hand in a card game with (a card or suit specified)

16) to aim and fire a weapon ahead of (a moving target) in order to allow for the travel of the target while the missile is reaching it

17) to act as a guide; show the way

18) to afford passage to a place:

That path leads directly to the house[/ex]

19) to go first; be in advance

20) to result in; tend toward (usu. fol. by to):

The incident led to her resignation[/ex]

21) to take the directing or principal part

22) to take the offensive

23) gam to make the first play in a card game

24) to be led or submit to being led, as a horse

25) spo (of a runner in baseball) to leave a base before the delivery of a pitch (often fol. by away)

26) phv lead off

a) to begin; start

b) phv spo baseball to be the first player in the batting order or the first batter in an inning

27) phv lead on

to mislead

28) the first or foremost place; position in advance of others:

to take the lead in the race[/ex]

29) the extent of such an advance position

30) a person or thing that leads

31) a leash

32) a suggestion or piece of information that helps to direct or guide; tip; clue

33) a guide or indication of a road, course, method, etc., to follow

34) precedence; example; leadership

35) sbz

a) the principal part in a play

b) the person who plays it

36) gam

a) the act or right of playing first in a card game

b) the card, suit, etc., so played

37) jou the opening paragraph of a newspaper story, serving as a summary

38) elm an often flexible and insulated single conductor, as a wire, used in electrical connections

39) the act of taking the offensive

40) Naut.

a) naut. navig. the direction of a rope, wire, or chain

b) naut. navig.

Also called leader 11) any of various devices for guiding a running rope.

41) an open channel through a field of ice

42) the act of aiming a weapon ahead of a moving target

43) the distance ahead of a moving target that a weapon must be aimed in order to hit it

44) most important; principal; leading; first:

a lead editorial[/ex]

45) spo (of a runner in baseball) nearest to scoring

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Etymology: bef. 900; ME leden, OE lǣdan (causative of līthan to go, travel), c. OS lēdjan, OHG leiten II

lead

[[t]lɛd[/t]] n. v. lead•ed, lead•ing

1) chem. a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal, sometimes found in its natural state but usu. combined as a sulfide, esp. in galena

Symbol: Pb; at. wt.: 207.19; at. no.: 82; sp. gr.: 11.34 at 20°C.

2) chem. something made of this metal or of one of its alloys

3) civ a plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings

4) bullets shot

5) chem. black lead or graphite

6) a small stick of graphite, as used in pencils

7) pri

Also, leading II, 2), a) a thin strip of type metal or brass less than type-high, used for increasing the space between lines of type.

8) bui a grooved bar of lead in which sections of glass are set, as in stained-glass windows

9) brit. leads, Brit. a flat lead roof

10) chem.

white lead

11) to cover, line, weight, treat, or impregnate with lead or a compound

12) pri to insert leading between lines of type

13) bui to fix (window glass) in position with leads

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- get the lead out

Etymology: bef. 900; ME lede, OE lēad, c. OFris lād, MLG lōd, MHG lōt plummet