- Containing or using no lead (the metal)
- unleaded
- (electronics) having no lead wire or connection
"leadless chip carriers are common in modern electronics"
- Accompany somebody somewhere to show them the way
"we led him to our chief";
- take, direct, conduct, guide
- Produce as a result or residue
"The investigation led to several arrests";
- leave, result
- Tend to or result in
"This remark led to further arguments among the guests"
- Travel in front of; go in advance of others
"The procession was led by John";
- head
- Cause to undertake a certain action
"Her greed led her to forge the checks"
- Stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
"Service leads all the way to Cranbury";
- run, go, pass, extend
- Be in charge of
"Who is leading this project?";
- head
- Be ahead of others; be the first
"she led her class every year";
- top
- Have the effect of making happen, or become more likely
"The use of computers in the classroom led to better writing";
- contribute, conduce [archaic]
- Have the leading position, as in the performance of a composition
"lead an orchestra";
- conduct, direct
- Provide access; extend (in the direction of something)
"This door leads to the basement";
- go
- Move ahead (of others) in time or space
"She led the pack in the marathon";
- precede
- Cause something to lie along a particular path
"lead the wire behind the cabinet";
- run
- Preside over
"John led the discussion";
- moderate, chair
- An advantage held by a competitor in a race
"he took the lead at the last turn"
- Evidence pointing to a possible solution
"the police are following a promising lead";
- track, trail
- A position of being the initiator of something and an example that others will follow (especially in the phrase ‘take the lead’)
"they didn't follow our lead"; "he takes the lead in any group"; "we were just waiting for someone to take the 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 hunter calculated the lead needed to hit the flying bird"
- The introductory section of a news story
"it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter";
- lead-in, lede [N. Amer]
- (sport) the score by which a team or individual is winning
"The home team maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half"
- An actor who plays a principal role
"She landed the lead in the Broadway production";
- star, principal
- (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";
- tip, steer, wind, hint
- A news story of major importance
"The presidential election was the lead story on every news channel";
- lead story
- The timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine
"Adjusting the lead improved the engine's performance";
- spark advance
- Restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
"The horse was secured to a post with a lead";
- leash, tether
- A heavy electrical cable used to transfer power from one vehicle battery to another
"He a lead to jump-start the dead battery";
- jumper cable [N. Amer], jumper lead [N. Amer], booster cable [N. Amer], jump lead [Brit]
- The playing of a card to start a trick in bridge
"the lead was in the dummy"
See also: lead-free, nonleaded
Type of: act, actor, advance, advantage, angle, be, boost, bring about, cause, conducting wire, constraint, counsel, counseling [US], counselling [Brit, Cdn], direct, direction, discuss, do, encourage, evidence, execute, exist, further, get, give rise, go, grounds, guidance, hash out, have, histrion [archaic], induce, jumper, leadership, leading, locomote, make, move, news article, news story, newspaper article, pass, perform, place, play, player, position, produce, promote, restraint, role player, score, section, stimulate, subdivision, talk over, thesp [Brit, informal], thespian, timing, travel, turn, vantage, wire
Antonym: deficit, follow, leaded
Part of: card game, cards, news article, news story, newspaper article
Encyclopedia: Lead, SD