lead
nounEtymology
From Middle English led, leed, from Old English lēad (“lead”), from Proto-West Germanic *laud (“lead”), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow”). Cognate with Scots leid, lede (“lead”), North Frisian lud, luad (“lead”), West Frisian lead (“lead”), Dutch lood (“lead”), Low German Lod (“solder, plummet”), German Lot (“solder, plummet, sounding line”), Swedish lod (“solder, plummet”), Icelandic lóð (“a plumb, weight”), Irish luaidhe (“lead”) Latin plumbum (“lead”), Finnish luoti (“bullet”). Doublet of loth. More at flow. * (graphite in a pencil): Graphite was once believed to be a form of lead; see black lead and plumbago.
- inherited from *laidijan✻
- inherited from leden
Definitions
A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily…
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, symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum).
A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea or to…
A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea or to estimate velocity in knots.
A thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing.
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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.
A roof covered with lead sheets or terne plates.
- I would have the tower two stories, and goodly leads upon the top.
- These rooms were on a level with the apartments of our friends Bows and Costigan next door at No. 4; and by reaching over the communicating leads, Grady could command the mignonette-box which bloomed in Bows’s window.
A thin cylinder of graphite used in pencils.
Bullets
Bullets; ammunition.
- They pumped him full of lead.
- All my life I want money and power Respect my mind or die from lead shower
X-ray protective clothing lined with lead.
- You must remember to wear your leads.
To cover, fill, or affect with lead.
- continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.
To place leads between the lines of.
- to lead a page
- leaded matter
To guide or conduct.
- a father leads a child
- a jockey leads a horse with a halter
- a dog leads a blind man
To guide or conduct, as by accompanying, going before, showing, influencing, directing…
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.
To begin, to be ahead.
- the big sloop led the fleet of yachts; the Guards led the attack; Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages
- 1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way.
- And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
To tend or reach in a certain spatial direction, or to a certain place.
- the path leads to the mill
- The mountain-foot that leads towards Mantua.
To be a cause of.
- gambling leads to other vices
To live or experience (a particular way of life).
- That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.
- Nor thou with shadow'd hint confuse / A life that leads melodious days.
- Follow me now and you will not regret / Leaving the life you led before we met. / You are the first to have this love of mine, / Forever with me till the end of time.
Used in phrasal verbs
Used in phrasal verbs: lead off, lead on, lead out, lead to (“be the cause of, bring about”), lead up, lead up to.
Misspelling of led.
The act of leading or conducting
The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction, course
- 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.
Precedence
Precedence; advance position; also, the measure of precedence; the state of being ahead in a race; the highest score in an incomplete game.
- the white horse had the lead.
- to be in the lead
- She lost the lead.
An insulated metallic wire for electrical devices and equipment.
The situation where a runner steps away from a base while waiting for the pitch to be…
The situation where a runner steps away from a base while waiting for the pitch to be thrown.
- The runner took his lead from first.
The act or right of playing first in a game or round
The act or right of playing first in a game or round; the card suit, or piece, so played
- your partner has the lead
The main role in a play or film
The main role in a play or film; the lead role.
- "You make moving pictures. In jungles and places." "That's me. And I've picked you for the lead in my next picture."
The actor who plays the main role
The actor who plays the main role; lead actor.
The person in charge of a project or a work shift etc.
- John is the development lead on this software product.
A channel of open water in an ice field.
A lode.
The course of a rope from end to end.
A rope, leather strap, or similar device with which to lead an animal
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…
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.
The distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.
The action of a tooth, such as a tooth of a wheel, in impelling another tooth or a pallet.
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…
Information obtained by a detective or police officer that allows him or her to discover further details about a crime or incident.
- The police have a couple of leads they will follow to solve the case.
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…
Information obtained by a news reporter about an issue or subject that allows him or her to discover more details.
The player who throws the first two rocks for a team.
The introductory paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper, or a news or other type of…
The introductory paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper, or a news or other type of article. (Sometimes spelled as lede for this usage to avoid ambiguity.)
An important news story that appears on the front page of a newspaper or at the beginning…
An important news story that appears on the front page of a newspaper or at the beginning of a news broadcast
The axial distance a screw thread travels in one revolution. It is equal to the pitch…
The axial distance a screw thread travels in one revolution. It is equal to the pitch times the number of starts.
In a barbershop quartet, the person who sings the melody, usually the second tenor.
The announcement by one voice part of a theme to be repeated by the other parts.
A mark or a short passage in one voice part, as of a canon, serving as a cue for the…
A mark or a short passage in one voice part, as of a canon, serving as a cue for the entrance of others.
A primary synth, often composed of square, sawtooth, triangle or sine waveforms.
The excess above a right angle in the angle between two consecutive cranks, as of a…
The excess above a right angle in the angle between two consecutive cranks, as of a compound engine, on the same shaft.
The angle between the line joining the brushes of a continuous-current dynamo and the…
The angle between the line joining the brushes of a continuous-current dynamo and the diameter symmetrical between the poles.
The advance of the current phase in an alternating circuit beyond that of the…
The advance of the current phase in an alternating circuit beyond that of the electromotive force producing it.
Foremost.
- The contestants are all tied; no one has the lead position.
- For the first time ever, the senior architect and lead developer for a key enterprise system on NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover mission shares the secrets to one of the most difficult technology tasks […]
Main, principal, primary, first, chief, foremost.
- the lead guitarist in band
- the lead developer on a software project
A civil parish in North Yorkshire, England.
A city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States.
The neighborhood
Derived
all roads lead to Mecca, all roads lead to Rome, all roads lead to Sydney, belead, blind leading the blind, colead, forelead, forlead, forthlead, inlead, leadable, lead a cat-and-dog life, lead around by the nose, lead astray, lead by example, lead by the nose, lead captive, leader, lead from the front, leading, lead nowhere, lead off, lead on, lead out, lead someone a dance, lead someone down the garden path, lead someone up the garden path, lead someone to the altar, lead the charge, lead the line, lead the way, lead through, lead to, lead up, lead up to, lead with one's chin, mislead, nose-led, offlead, one thing led to another · +24 more
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at lead. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at lead. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
7 hops · closes at lead
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA