lead
led
- n an advantage held by a competitor in a race
he took the lead at the last turn - n a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element; bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes readily to dull grey
the children were playing with lead soldiers - n evidence pointing to a possible solution
the police are following a promising lead - n a position of leadership (especially in the phrase `take the lead')
he takes the lead in any group
we were just waiting for someone to take the lead
they didn't follow our lead - n the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)
- n the introductory section of a story
it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter - n (sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning
- n an actor who plays a principal role
- n (baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base
he took a long lead off first - n an indication of potential opportunity
a good lead for a job - n a news story of major importance
- n the timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine
- n restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
- n thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing
- n mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil
- n a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire
it was a tangle of jumper cables and clip leads - n the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge
the lead was in the dummy - v take somebody somewhere
We lead him to our chief - v have as a result or residue
- v tend to or result in
This remark lead to further arguments among the guests - v travel in front of; go in advance of others
- v cause to undertake a certain action
- v stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
- v be in charge of
- v be ahead of others; be the first
- v be conducive to
The use of computers in the classroom lead to better writing - v lead, as in the performance of a composition; Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for years"
- v lead, extend, or afford access
- v move ahead (of others) in time or space
- v cause something to pass or lead somewhere
- v preside over
- Environmentalists want to get the lead out of bullets.
- He also found that traditional lead testing was misleading.
- In most cities east of the Mississippi that are old enough to have run-down slums, doctors have long thought they had correctly estimated the annual incidence of lead poisoning in .