lead

Meanings

• an advantage held by a competitor in a race
  • "he took the lead at the last turn"
• 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"
• evidence pointing to a possible solution
  • "the police are following a promising lead"
• 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"
• the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)
• the introductory section of a story
  • "it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter"
• (sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning
• an actor who plays a principal role
• (baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base
  • "he took a long lead off first"
• an indication of potential opportunity
  • "a good lead for a job"
• a news story of major importance
• the timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine
• restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
• thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing
• mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil
• a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire
  • "it was a tangle of jumper cables and clip leads"
• the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge
  • "the lead was in the dummy"
• take somebody somewhere
  • "We lead him to our chief"
• have as a result or residue
• tend to or result in
  • "This remark lead to further arguments among the guests"
• travel in front of; go in advance of others
• cause to undertake a certain action
• stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
• be in charge of
• be ahead of others; be the first
• be conducive to
  • "The use of computers in the classroom lead to better writing"
• lead, as in the performance of a composition
• lead, extend, or afford access
• move ahead (of others) in time or space
• cause something to pass or lead somewhere
• preside over

Synonyms

atomic number 82, booster cable, chair, conduce, conduct, confidential information, contribute, direct, extend, go, guide, head, hint, jumper cable, jumper lead, lead story, lead-in, leading, leash, leave, lede, moderate, pass, Pb, pencil lead, precede, principal, result, run, spark advance, star, steer, take, tether, tip, top, track, trail, wind