Meaning of lead In English

• 0 to control a group of people, a country, or a situation:

  • I think we've chosen the right person to lead the expedition.

  • I've asked Gemma to lead the discussion.

  • Who will be leading the inquiry into the accident?

• 1 (especially in sports or other competitions) to be in front, to be first, or to be winning:

  • After 30 minutes the challengers were leading by two goals.

  • With two laps to go Ngomo led by less than two seconds.

  • The Lions are leading the Hawks 28–9.

• 2 to cause someone to do something, especially something bad:

  • [ + to infinitive ] The brochure led me to believe that the price included home delivery.

  • It's worrying that such a prominent politician is so easily led.

  • He was a weak man, led astray by ambition.

• 3 to show the way to a group of people, animals, vehicles, etc. by going in front of them:

  • I don't know the way, so you'd better lead.

  • If you lead in the jeep, we'll follow behind on the horses.

  • The local youth band will lead the parade this weekend.

  • A large black hearse led the funeral procession.

  • She led them down the hall.

  • The waiter led us to our table.

  • Our guide led us through the mountains.

  • She took the child by the hand and led him upstairs to bed.

  • He led the horse out of the stable.

  • You've been there before - why don't you lead the way?

  • The company has been leading the way in network applications for several years.

• 4 (especially of roads, paths, doors, signs, information, etc.) to go in a particular direction or have a particular result, or to allow or cause this:

  • There's a track that leads directly to the reservoir.

  • The door leads out onto a wide, shady terrace.

  • A narrow trail of blood led directly into the cave.

  • This information led the police to a house near the harbour.

• 5 to live a particular type of life:

  • He was able to lead a normal life, despite the illness.

  • We certainly don't lead a life of luxury but we're not poor either.

• 6 a winning position during a race or other situation where people are competing:

  • For the first time in the race Harrison is in the lead.

  • With a final burst of speed she went/moved into the lead.

  • After last night's win Johnson has taken (over) the lead in the championship table.

  • By the end of the day's play Davies had a lead of three points.

• 7 the act of showing a person or group of people what to do:

  • We'll go through the dance routine again - follow my lead (= do what I do).

• 8 a piece of information that allows a discovery to be made or a solution to be found:

  • A lead from an informer enabled the police to make several arrests.

• 9 the main part or actor in a film or play

• 10 a wire covered in plastic and used to connect electrical equipment to the electricity supply

• 11 a piece of rope, chain, etc. tied to an animal, especially to a dog at its collar when taking it for a walk:

  • Please keep your dog on a lead when on the beach.

• 12 used to describe the main performer or part in a performance:

  • Who played the lead role in the movie?

  • The lead guitarist was good.

• 13 a chemical element that is a very heavy, soft, dark grey, poisonous metal, used especially in the past on roofs and for pipes and also for protection against radiation:

  • lead pipes

• 14 to manage or control a group of people; to be the person who makes decisions that other people choose to follow or obey:

  • Her sister is leading an effort to change this law.

  • I’ve asked George to lead the discussion.

• 15 to show the way to someone or something, esp. by going first:

  • [ T ] She led the children along the path out of the forest.

  • [ T ] That research group leads the way in the development of new software.

  • [ T ] Just follow the signs and they will lead you to the exit.

  • [ I ] A flight of narrow stairs leads to the kitchen.

• 16 to prepare the way for something to happen; cause:

  • [ I ] Ten years of scientific research led to the development of the new drug.

  • [ T ] Discussions with lawyers led him to believe that the company would not sue him.

• 17 (esp. in sports or other competitions) to be in front, be first, or be winning:

  • [ I/T ] With only three minutes to go in the football game, New Orleans led (Dallas), 24 to 21.

• 18 to live a particular type of life:

  • She retired to Florida and still leads a busy life.

• 19 a leash

• 20 A lead is also the amount or distance by which someone is in front:

  • After five games, she was still ahead by a point in the chess tournament, but her lead was shrinking.

• 21 a piece of information that allows a discovery to be made or a solution to be found:

  • The lead the detectives were following led to several arrests.

• 22 a dense, soft, dark gray metal, used esp. in combination with other metals and in batteries (= devices that produce electricity):

  • Lead pipes in many older houses have been replaced by copper ones.

  • fig. The day after running a marathon, my legs felt like lead (= heavy and tired).

• 23 the black writing material made of graphite, used esp. in the center of a pencil

• 24 to be in charge of a group of people, an organization, or a situation:

  • They led a management buy-out of the business, raising €10m in capital.

  • She has been promoted to lead a team that focuses on product development.

  • He leads the company's worldwide marketing and sales division.

• 25 to be in front, be first, or be winning in a particular situation or area of business:

  • German, Swiss, and Scandinavian banks lead the internet-based financial services market in Europe.

• 26 to happen before something else happens:

  • The company has improved operating performance, led by cost reduction efforts and productivity gains.

• 27 to influence someone to do sth:

  • lead sb/sth to do sth Sharply lower profit has led the company to begin an aggressive cost-cutting plan.

• 28 to be actively involved in what you are encouraging others to do:

  • The chairman needs to lead from the front and try to resolve the conflicts.

• 29 to be better or more successful than other people or things:

  • For ISAs, building societies again led the pack, with 16 of the 20 top-paying providers.

• 30 to make more progress than other people in the development of something:

  • lead the way in/on sth The nation's largest state has led the way in higher education and energy conservation.

  • Experts said women tend to lead the way on issues related to health.

• 31 a winning position in a situation in which people are competing:

  • give sb/sth a lead The brand will give the company a commanding lead in the important new sector.

  • have/increase/maintain a lead (over sb/sth) The group's market share rose to 42.9%, increasing its lead over their arch-rival, which has 37.6%.

  • Goldman maintained its lead as top manager of negotiated sales.

• 32 an action or example that shows a person or group what to do:

  • Most competitors will in any case be only too happy to follow the company's lead in raising prices.

  • take a lead from sb/sth We could take a lead from Finland, where a government programme has dramatically raised the intake of fruit and vegetables.

  • take a lead on sth The supermarket group took a lead on GM food labelling.

• 33 a piece of information that allows a discovery to be made, customers to be found, or a solution to be found:

  • Our business meeting gave me lots of good leads.

• 34 most important among a group of people, products, etc.:

  • a lead company/product The company's lead product for lung and certain blood cancers is in Phase II trials in humans.

  • The lead negotiator for the teachers' union said he wasn't surprised by the vote.

  • play a lead role in sth They have played a lead role in the fast and furious growth of e-commerce.