lead
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: lĕd
ipa: /lɛd/
rhymes: -ɛd
homophone: led
enpr: lēd
ipa: /liːd/
ipa: /lid/
rhymes: -iːd
homophone: leed
homophone: lede
homophone: lied (“song”)
enpr: lĕd
ipa: /lɛd/
rhymes: -ɛd
homophone: led
Forms: form: leads
form: leading
form: led
form: led
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: lead
form: lead
form: led
form: lead
form: leadest
form: led
form: ledst
form: ledest
form: leads
form: leadeth
form: led
form: lead
form: led
form: lead
form: led
form: lead
form: -
form: leading
form: led
form: lede
form: leed
Etymology: From Middle English leden, from Old English lǣdan (“to lead”), from Proto-West Germanic *laidijan, from Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (“to cause one to go, lead”), causative of Proto-Germanic *līþaną (“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyt- (“to leave, die”).
Cognate with West Frisian liede (“to lead”), Dutch leiden (“to lead”), German leiten (“to lead”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål lede (“to lead”), Norwegian Nynorsk leia (“to lead”), Swedish leda (“to lead”). Related to Old English līþan (“to go, travel”).
Senses: examples: text: a father leads a child
text: a jockey leads a horse with a halter
text: a dog leads a blind man
text: If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall down in the ditch.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 15:14:
text: They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 4:29:
text: In thy right hand lead with thee / The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.
ref: a. 1645, John Milton, “L’Allegro”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:
text: As he was going home to the palace, he met an old woman leading a golden goose.
ref: 1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], translated by H. L. Brækstad, Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 271:
topics: heading
glosses: To guide or conduct.
To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection.
examples: text: The guide was able to lead the tourists through the jungle safely.
text: The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 13:21:
text: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 23:2:
text: This thought might lead me through the world’s vain mask. Content, though blind, had I no better guide.
ref: 1673, John Milton, “[Sonnet] [Sonnet] XXI”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […], →OCLC:
text: I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
topics: heading
glosses: To guide or conduct.
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 guide somebody somewhere or to bring somebody somewhere by means of instructions.
examples: text: A good teacher should lead their students to the right answer.
topics: heading
glosses: To guide or conduct.
To direct; to counsel; to instruct.
examples: text: to lead a political party
text: to lead the search team
text: Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or possess places.
ref: 1664, Robert South, “(please specify the sermon number)A Sermon Preached Before the University at Christ-Church, Oxon”, in Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. […], new edition, volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: […] Thomas Tegg, […], published 1843, →OCLC:
topics: heading
glosses: To guide or conduct.
To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; to command, especially a military or business unit.
examples: text: to lead someone to a righteous cause
text: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 6:13:
text: Silly women, laden with sins, led away by divers lusts.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Timothy 3:6:
text: He was driven by the necessities of the times, more than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of actions.
ref: 1649, King Charles I of England, Eikon Basilike:
topics: heading
glosses: To guide or conduct.
To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure.
examples: text: The evidence leads me to believe he is guilty.
topics: heading
glosses: To guide or conduct.
To influence towards a belief, a conclusion, etc.
glosses: 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.
examples: text: the big sloop led the fleet of yachts;  the Guards led the attack;  Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages
text: 1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso
As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way.
text: And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
ref: c. 1819, Leigh Hunt, Abou Ben Adhem:
text: “Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
topics: heading
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among.
examples: text: The standard-bearers led and the rest of the marchers followed.
topics: heading
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To proceed in front of others; to go first.
examples: text: It leads in the information technology sector.
topics: heading
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To be more advanced in technology or business than others.
examples: text: to lead trumps
text: He led the ace of spades.
topics: card-games
dominoes
games
heading
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To begin a game, round, or trick, with
topics: heading
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To be ahead of others, e.g., in a race.
topics: heading
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To have the highest interim score in a game.
examples: text: The batter always leads off base.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
heading
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To step off base and move towards the next base.
topics: heading
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To aim in front of a moving target, in order that the shot may hit the target as it passes.
qualifier: shooting
topics: climbing
heading
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To begin, to be ahead.
To lead climb.
examples: text: the path leads to the mill
text: The mountain-foot that leads towards Mantua.
ref: c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
glosses: To tend or reach in a certain spatial direction, or to a certain place.
examples: text: gambling leads to other vices
text: Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.
ref: 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
text: All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism. That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition. It is therefore dealing with pollution in two ways—suppression and mitigation.
ref: 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
info_templates: extra_data: words: to
expansion: [with to]
synonyms: lead to
glosses: To be a cause of.
examples: text: That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 2:2:
text: Nor thou with shadow'd hint confuse / A life that leads melodious days.
ref: 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXXIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
text: 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.
ref: 1969, “N.I.B.”, in John Osbourne (lyrics), Black Sabbath, performed by Black Sabbath:
glosses: To live or experience (a particular way of life).
raw_tags: with "life"
glosses: Used in phrasal verbs: lead off, lead on, lead out, lead to (“be the cause of, bring about”), lead up, lead up to.
glosses: Misspelling of led.
Derived terms: 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 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
onlead
outlead
overlead
pixie-led
pixy-led
relead
ringlead
underlead
uplead
Related terms: lad
laddie