Lead
Contents
English
| Chemical element | |
|---|---|
| Pb | Previous: thallium (Tl) |
| Next: bismuth (Bi) | |
Noun
Lead (countable and uncountable; plural Leads)- (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, Atomic weight 206.4, Specific Gravity 11.37, Symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum).
- (countable) 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.
- I would have the tower two stories, and goodly leads upon the top. — Bacon
- (countable) A thin cylinder of black lead or plumbago (graphite) used in pencils.
- (slang) bullets
- They filled him full of lead.
Derived terms
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; as, continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.
- (transitive, printing) To place leads between the lines of; as, to lead a page; leaded matter.
Notes
Note carefully these two senses are verbs derived from the noun referring to the metallic element, and are unrelated to the heteronym defined below under #Etymology 2.
Verb
Lead (third-person singular simple present leads, present participle leading, simple past and past participle led)
- (transitive) To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection; as, a father leads a child; a jockey leads a horse with a halter; a dog leads a blind man.
- If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall down in the ditch. — John Wyclif on Matthew 15:14
- They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill. — Luke 4:29
- In thy right hand lead with thee The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty. — Milton
- (transitive) 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. Hence, figuratively: To direct; to counsel; to instruct; as, to lead a traveler.
- The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way. — Exodus 13:21
- He leadeth me beside the still waters. — Psalms 23:2
- This thought might lead me through the world’s vain mask. Content, though blind, had I no better guide. — Milton.
- (transitive) To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; as, to lead an army, an exploring party, or a search; to lead a political party; to command, especially a military or business unit
- Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or possess places. — Robert South
- (transitive) To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among; as, the big sloop led the fleet of yachts; the Guards led the attack; Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages.
- As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way. — Edward Fairfax, translating Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered.
- And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. — Leigh Hunt
- (transitive) To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure; as, to lead one to espouse a righteous cause.
- The evidence leads me to believe he is guilty.
- He was driven by the necessities of the times, more than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of actions. — Eikon Basilike
- Silly women, laden with sins, led away by divers lusts. — 2 Timothy 3:6.
- The evidence leads me to believe he is guilty.
- (transitive) 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).
- That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. — 1 Timothy 2:2
- Nor thou with shadowed hint confuse A life that leads melodious days. — Alfred Tennyson
- You remember . . . the life he used to lead his wife and daughter. — Dickens
- (transitive, card games, dominoes) To begin a game, round, or trick, with; as, to lead trumps
- He led a double five.
- (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.
- (intransitive) To be ahead of others, e.g., in a race
- (intransitive) To have the highest interim score in a game
- (intransitive) To be more advanced in technology or business than others
- (intransitive) To tend or reach in a certain direction, or to a certain place; as, the path leads to the mill; gambling leads to other vices.
- The mountain-foot that leads towards Mantua. — Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, V-ii
- (intransitive) To lead off or out, to go first; to begin.
- To produce.
- The shock led to a change in his behaviour.
- (baseball) To step off base and move towards the next base.
- The batter always leads off base.
- (shooting) To aim in front of a moving target, in order that the shot may hit the target as it passes.
Derived terms
Noun
Lead (countable and uncountable; plural Leads)- (uncountable) The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction, course; as, to take the lead; to be under the lead of another.
- At the time I speak of, and having a momentary lead, . . . I am sure I did my country important service. — Edmund Burke
- (uncountable) Precedence; advance position; also, the measure of precedence; as, the white horse had the lead; a lead of a boat’s length, or of half a second; the state of being ahead in a race; the highest score in a game in an incomplete game.
- 2010 Kevin Darlin West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn
- Blackburn then regained the lead with a simplest of set-piece goals
- (countable) a metallic wire for electrical devices and equipments
- (baseball) When a runner steps away from a base while waiting for the pitch to be thrown
- The runner took his lead from first.
- (uncountable) (cards and dominoes) The act or right of playing first in a game or round; the card suit, or piece, so played; as, your partner has the lead.
- (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.
- charging lead
- (civil engineering) The distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.
- (horology) The action of a tooth, as a tooth of a wheel, in impelling another tooth or a pallet. — Claudias Saunier
- 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.
- (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.)
- (engineering) The axial distance a screw thread travels in one revolution. It is equal to the pitch times the number of starts.
Notes
Note that these noun (attributive) uses are all derived from the verb, not the chemical element in #Etymology 1.
Derived terms
Adjective
Lead (not comparable)
- (not comparable) Foremost.
- The contestants are all tied; no one has the lead position.
Synonyms
Adjectives for Lead
hissing; murderous; dull; unencumbered; smoke-blackened; merciless; proper.
Verbs for Lead
cast—; expose—; fuse—; melt—; mine—; refine—; sheet—; smelt—; solder—; treat with—; unearth—; weight with—; —corrodes; —poisons; —softens; —tarnishes.
Adverbs for Lead
deceitfully; gallantly; boldly; intrepidly; triumphantly; victoriously; mercilessly; ceremonially; dexterously; ultimately; fate-fully; enterprisingly; illustriously; imagiatively; reluctantly; gallantly; despotically; fanatically; energetically; intelligently; unscrupulously; nominally; ecclesiastically; incomparably; supremely
Thesaurus
T square, accent, accent mark, accomplishment, actor, administer, administrate, advance, advantage, affect, aim, aluminum, americium, antagonist, antecede, antecedence, antecedency, anteposition, anteriority, antetype, antihero, antitype, approach, archetype, arrow, ascendancy, attend, aureate, authority, ballast, bamboozle, bar, barium, be in front, be master, be responsible for, be the bellwether, be the front-runner, beacon, bear, begin, beguile, bell cow, bellwether, bend, bend to, beryllium, bias, bidet, biotype, bismuth, bit, bit part, blaze, blaze the trail, bob, brass, brassy, brazen, break ground, break the ice, break the trail, bring, bring about, bring on, bring up, broach, bronze, bronzy, cable, cadmium, calcium, call forth, call the signals, cancel, captain, carriage horse, carry, carry on, cart horse, cast, catchword, cause, cavalry horse, cerium, cesium, chain, chair, chaperon, character, chief, chrome, chromium, classic example, clue, cobalt, color, come before, come first, command, commence, compass needle, conduce, conduct, contribute, contribute to, contrive, control, convince, convoy, copper, coppery, cord, create, criterion, cue, cue word, cupreous, cuprous, custos, danseur noble, dean, deanship, deceive, decide, decoy, descend, determine, direct, direction, direction post, discipline, dispose, distance, diva, dominion, dot, doyen, draft horse, draw down, draw on, dray horse, driving horse, drop, dysprosium, edge, effect, electronics king, elicit, engage, engender, engineer, enlist, entice, epitome, erbium, escort, esquire, europium, evidence, evoke, example, exceed, excel, excellence, exemplar, experience, expression mark, fat part, favor, feature attraction, feeder, fermata, ferrous, ferruginous, fill horse, filler, finger post, first, first tragedian, fist, flex, fool, foregoing, foremost, forerun, forge ahead, front, front position, fugleman, fugler, gadolinium, gallium, genotype, germanium, get, get ahead of, get before, get going, get moving, get to do, get under way, gigster, gilt, go, go ahead of, go before, go in advance, gold, gold-filled, gold-plated, golden, govern, governance, government, gravitate, greatness, guard, guidance, guide, guideboard, guidepost, hack, hackney, hand, handle, handling, have a tendency, have priority, have the start, head, head the line, head the table, head up, heading, headliner, heavy, heavy lead, herald, hero, heroine, hint, hold, hold a heading, holmium, honcho, hoodwink, hot lead, hour hand, hunter, husbandry, imitatee, inaugurate, incline, incomparability, index, index finger, indium, induce, influence, ingenue, inimitability, initiate, inspire, instigate, interest in, intimation, introduce, inveigle, invent, iridium, iron, ironlike, jeune premier, jument, key, key signature, key word, kick off, king, lanthanum, lap, le pas, lead astray, lead off, lead on, lead role, lead the dance, lead the way, leaden, leader, leadership, leading, leading lady, leading light, leading man, leading woman, lean, leash, ligature, light the way, lines, lithium, live, look to, lubber line, luminary, lure, lutetium, magnesia, magnesium, main, majority, make the rules, manage, management, managery, managing, maneuver, manganese, manipulate, manipulation, margin, mark, marshal, master spirit, mastermind, measure, mercurial, mercurous, mercury, metronomic mark, milepost, minute hand, mirror, misdirect, misguide, mislead, model, molybdenum, motivate, mount, move, needle, neodymium, nickel, nickelic, nickeline, niobium, notation, obtain, officer, one-upmanship, order, ordering, original, originate, osmium, outdo, outrank, outrun, outstrip, pace, pack horse, palfrey, palladium, paradigm, paramount, part, pass, pattern, pause, person, personage, persuade, pewter, pewtery, phosphorus, piece, pilot, pilotage, pioneer, platinum, play first fiddle, plow horse, plumb, plumb bob, plumb line, plumb rule, plummet, plunge, point, point to, pointer, pole horse, polo pony, polonium, possibility, post-horse, potassium, potential, praseodymium, precede, precedence, precedency, precedent, preceding, precession, precipitate, precursor, predispose, predominance, predomination, preeminence, preface, preference, prefixation, prelude, premier, preponderance, prepotence, prepotency, prerogative, presa, prescribe, present, preside over, prestige, prevail, prima ballerina, prima donna, primacy, principal, priority, privilege, procure, produce, promethium, prompt, prospect, protactinium, protagonist, prothesis, prototype, provoke, pull the strings, quarterback, quicksilver, radium, rank, rank first, rank out, rate, recedence, redound to, regulate, regulation, remount, representative, restraint, rhenium, rider, riding horse, right-of-way, road horse, roadster, role, rouncy, route, rubidium, rule, run, running, ruthenium, saddle horse, saddler, samarium, sandbag, scandium, scent, seduce, see, segno, seniority, serve, set, set square, set the pace, set toward, settle, shaft horse, shepherd, show, show a tendency, show the way, side, sign, signature, signboard, signpost, silver, silver-plated, silvery, singer, sink, sinker, skill, skipper, slur, sodium, soften up, soubrette, spearhead, spend, spoor, square, squire, stalking-horse, stand first, stand in front, stand over, standard, star, steel, steely, steer, steerage, steering, straight part, strontium, subside, success, suggestion, sumpter, sumpter horse, superinduce, superintend, superiority, superstar, supervise, supporting character, supporting role, supremacy, surpass, sway, swell, symbol, take command, take out, take precedence, take the initiative, take the lead, take the plunge, tantalum, technetium, telltale, tempo mark, tempt, tend, tend to go, terbium, tether, thallium, the conn, the helm, the lead, the wheel, thill horse, thiller, thulium, tie, time signature, tin, tinge, tinny, tip, tip-off, titanium, title role, tone, top dog, top priority, trace, transcendence, transcendency, trend, try square, tungsten, turn, type, type species, type specimen, uranium, urgency, urtext, usher, usher in, van, vanadium, vanguard, verge, vestige, villain, vinculum, virtuosity, wait on, walk-on, walking part, warp, wear down, weigh down, weigh with, weight, weight down, wheeler, wheelhorse, whiff, while away, wield authority, wield the baton, wire, wolfram, work, work toward, workhorse, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, zirconium
Etymology 1
From Middle English leed, from Old English lēad (“lead”), from Proto-Germanic *laudan (“lead”), from Proto-Indo-European *lAudh- (“lead”). Cognate with West Frisian lead (“lead”), Dutch lood (“lead”), German Lot (“solder, plummet, sounding line”), Swedish lod (“lead”), Irish luaidhe (“lead”), Lithuanian {{ Template:Lit/script |liudē| face=term | lang=lit }} (“plumb, plummet, plumbline”).
Alternative etymology suggests the possibility that Proto-Germanic *laudan may derive from Proto-Celtic *loudhom, from an assumed Proto-Italo-Celtic *ploudhom, from Proto-Indo-European *plou(d)- (“to flow”). If so, then cognate with Latin plumbum (“lead”). More at flow.
Pronunciation
Etymology 2
From Middle English leden, from Old English lǣdan (“to lead”), from Proto-Germanic *laidijanan (“to cause one to go, lead”), causative of Proto-Germanic *līþanan (“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European *leit-, *leith- (“to leave, die”). Cognate with Dutch leiden, German leiten, Swedish leda, Danish lede. Related to Old English līþan (“to go, travel”).
Pronunciation
Translations
Noun
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Verb
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See also
Verb
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Noun
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References
- Lead in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Statistics
- Most common English words before 1923: spite · built · lower · #902: lead · wouldn't · success · instance
Anagrams
Hungarian
Verb
Lead (infinitive leadni)
- To pass down, to hand down, to turn in, to drop off.
- To lose weight, usually as a result of some kind of training or exercise.
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈlɛɒd/
- Hyphenation: le‧ad
Conjugation
| Infinitive | leadni | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past participle | leadott | |||||||
| Present participle | leadó | |||||||
| Future participle | leadandó | |||||||
| Adverbial participle | leadva | |||||||
| Potential | leadhat | |||||||
| 1st person sg. | 2nd person sg. informal | 3rd person sg., 2nd person sg. formal |
1st person pl. | 2nd person pl. informal | 3rd person pl., 2nd person pl. formal | |||
| Indicative Mood | Present | Indefinite | leadok | leadsz | Lead | leadunk | leadtok | leadnak |
| Definite | leadom én téged/titeket leadlak |
leadod | leadja | leadjuk | leadjátok | leadják | ||
| Past | Indefinite | leadtam | leadtál | leadott | leadtunk | leadtatok | leadtak | |
| Definite | leadtam én téged/titeket leadtalak |
leadtad | leadta | leadtuk | leadtátok | leadták | ||
| Conditional Mood | Present | Indefinite | leadnék | leadnál | leadna | leadnánk | leadnátok | leadnának |
| Definite | leadnám én téged/titeket leadnálak |
leadnád | leadná | leadnánk | leadnátok | leadnák | ||
| Subjunctive Mood | Present | Indefinite | leadjak | leadj or leadjál |
leadjon | leadjunk | leadjatok | leadjanak |
| Definite | leadjam én téged/titeket leadjalak |
leadd or leadjad |
leadja | leadjuk | leadjátok | leadják | ||
| Conjugated Infinitive | leadnom | leadnod | leadnia | leadnunk | leadnotok | leadniuk | ||
Derived terms
Old English
Noun
lēad n.
- lead (metal)
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *laudan.
Descendants
- En:Chemical elements
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English dated terms
- En:Typography
- English slang
- English verbs
- En:Printing
- En:Card games
- En:Dominoes
- En:Baseball
- En:Mining
- En:Nautical
- En:Marketing
- En:Curling
- En:Newspapers
- En:Engineering
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Proto-Celtic
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- Translations to be checked (Breton)
- Translations to be checked (Catalan)
- Translations to be checked (Indonesian)
- Translations to be checked (Romanian)
- 1000 English basic words
- English heteronyms
- English homophones
- English irregular verbs
- English terms with multiple etymologies
- Hungarian verbs
- Hungarian words prefixed with le-
- Old English nouns
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
