to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort: to lead a group on a cross-country hike.
2.
to conduct by holding and guiding: to lead a horse by a rope.
3.
to influence or induce; cause: Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.
4.
to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring: You can lead her around to your point of view if you are persistent.
5.
to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course.
6.
(of a road, passage, etc.) to serve to bring (a person) to a place: The first street on the left will lead you to Andrews Place.
7.
to take or bring: The prisoners were led into the warden's office.
8.
to command or direct (an army or other large organization): He led the Allied forces during the war.
9.
to go at the head of or in advance of (a procession, list, body, etc.); proceed first in: The mayor will lead the parade.
10.
to be superior to; have the advantage over: The first baseman leads his teammates in runs batted in.
11.
to have top position or first place in: Iowa leads the nation in corn production.
12.
to have the directing or principal part in: The minister will now lead us in prayer. He led a peace movement.
13.
to act as leader of (an orchestra, band, etc.); conduct.
14.
to go through or pass (time, life, etc.): to lead a full life.
15.
Cards. to begin a round, game, etc., with (a card or suit specified).
16.
to aim and fire a firearm or cannon ahead of (a moving target) in order to allow for the travel of the target while the bullet or shell is reaching it.
17.
Football. to throw a lead pass to (an intended receiver): The quarterback led the left end.
–verb (used without object)
18.
to act as a guide; show the way: You lead and we'll follow.
19.
to afford passage to a place: That path leads directly to the house.
20.
to go first; be in advance: The band will lead and the troops will follow.
21.
to result in; tend toward (usually fol. by to): The incident led to his resignation. One remark often leads to another.
22.
to take the directing or principal part.
23.
to take the offensive: The contender led with a right to the body.
24.
Cards. to make the first play.
25.
to be led or submit to being led, as a horse: A properly trained horse will lead easily.
26.
Baseball. (of a base runner) to leave a base before the delivery of a pitch in order to reach the next base more quickly (often fol. by away).
27.
lead back, to play (a card) from a suit that one's partner led.
–noun
28.
the first or foremost place; position in advance of others: He took the lead in the race.
29.
the extent of such an advance position: He had a lead of four lengths.
30.
a person or thing that leads.
31.
a leash.
32.
a suggestion or piece of information that helps to direct or guide; tip; clue: I got a lead on a new job. The phone list provided some great sales leads.
33.
a guide or indication of a road, course, method, etc., to follow.
34.
precedence; example; leadership: They followed the lead of the capital in their fashions.
35.
Theater.
a.
the principal part in a play.
b.
the person who plays it.
36.
Cards.
a.
the act or right of playing first, as in a round.
b.
the card, suit, etc., so played.
37.
Journalism.
a.
a short summary serving as an introduction to a news story, article, or other copy.
b.
the main and often most important news story.
38.
Electricity. an often flexible and insulated single conductor, as a wire, used in connections between pieces of electric apparatus.
39.
the act of taking the offensive.
40.
Nautical.
a.
the direction of a rope, wire, or chain.
b.
Also called leader.any of various devices for guiding a running rope.
41.
Naval Architecture. the distance between the center of lateral resistance and the center of effort of a sailing ship, usually expressed decimally as a fraction of the water-line length.
42.
an open channel through a field of ice.
43.
Mining.
a.
a lode.
b.
an auriferous deposit in an old riverbed.
44.
the act of aiming a gun ahead of a moving target.
45.
the distance ahead of a moving target that a gun must be aimed in order to score a direct hit.
46.
Baseball. an act or instance of leading.
47.
Manège. (of a horse at a canter or gallop) the foreleg that consistently extends beyond and strikes the ground ahead of the other foreleg: The horse is cantering on the left lead.
–adjective
48.
most important; principal; leading; first: lead editorial; lead elephant.
49.
Football. (of a forward pass) thrown ahead of the intended receiver so as to allow him to catch it while running.
50.
Baseball. (of a base runner) nearest to scoring: They forced the lead runner at third base on an attempted sacrifice.
—Verb phrases
51.
lead off,
a.
to take the initiative; begin.
b.
Baseball. to be the first player in the batting order or the first batter in an inning.
52.
lead on,
a.
to induce to follow an unwise course of action; mislead.
b.
to cause or encourage to believe something that is not true.
53.
lead out,
a.
to make a beginning.
b.
to escort a partner to begin a dance: He led her out and they began a rumba.
—Idioms
54.
lead someone a chase or dance, to cause someone difficulty by forcing to do irksome or unnecessary things.
Symbol Pb A soft, malleable, ductile, bluish-white, dense metallic element, extracted chiefly from galena and used in containers and pipes for corrosives, solder and type metal, bullets, radiation shielding, paints, and antiknock compounds. Atomic number 82; atomic weight 207.2; melting point 327.5°C; boiling point 1,744°C; specific gravity 11.35; valence 2, 4. See Table at element.
A lead weight suspended by a line, used to make soundings.
Bullets from or for firearms; shot: pumped the target full of lead.
leads Strips of lead used to hold the panes of a window.
Abbr. ld.Printing A thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type.
leadsChiefly British A flat roof covered with sheets of lead.
Any of various, often graphitic compositions used as the writing substance in pencils.
A thin stick of such material.
v.
tr.lead·ed, lead·ing, leads
To cover, line, weight, or fill with lead.
Printing To provide space between (lines of type) with leads.
To secure (window glass) with leads.
To treat with lead or a lead compound: leaded gasoline; leaded paint.
[Middle English led, from Old English lēad, probably of Celtic origin.]
indicating the most important performer or role; "the leading man"; "prima ballerina"; "prima donna"; "a star figure skater"; "the starring role"; "a stellar role"; "a stellar performance"
2.
greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement; "our greatest statesmen"; "the country's leading poet"; "a preeminent archeologist"
3.
going or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way; "we rode in the leading car"; "the leading edge of technology" [ant: following]
4.
having the leading position or higher score in a contest; "he is ahead by a pawn"; "the leading team in the pennant race" [syn: ahead]
noun
1.
thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing [syn: lead]
2.
the activity of leading; "his leadership inspired the team" [syn: leadership]
leadingtext /ledding/ The spacing between lines of text. This is defined when a font is designed but can often be altered in order to change the appearance of the text or for special effects. It is measured in points and is normally 120% of the height of the text. See also kerning, tracking. (1996-06-07)
Lead\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.]1. To cover, fill, or affect with lead; as, continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle. 2. (Print.) To place leads between the lines of; as, to lead a page; leaded matter.
Lead\ (l[=e]d), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Led (l[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.] [OE. leden, AS. l[=ae]dan (akin to OS. l[=e]dian, D. leiden, G. leiten, Icel. le[imac][eth]a, Sw. leda, Dan. lede), properly a causative fr. AS. li[eth]an to go; akin to OHG. l[imac]dan, Icel. l[imac][eth]a, Goth. lei[thorn]an (in comp.). Cf. Lode, Loath.]1. 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. --Wyclif (Matt. xv. 14.) They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill. --Luke iv. 29. In thy right hand lead with thee The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty. --Milton. 2. To guide or conduct in a certain course, or to a certain place or end, by making the way known; to show the way, esp. by going with or going in advance of. Hence, figuratively: To direct; to counsel; to instruct; as, to lead a traveler; to lead a pupil. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way. --Ex. xiii. 21. He leadeth me beside the still waters. --Ps. xxiii. 2. This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask. Content, though blind, had I no better guide. --Milton. 3. 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. Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or possess places. --South. 4. 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. --Fairfax. And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. --Leigh Hunt. 5. 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. 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 Tim. iii. 6 (Rev. Ver.). 6. To guide or conduct one's self 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 Tim. ii. 2. Nor thou with shadowed hint confuse A life that leads melodious days. --Tennyson. You remember . . . the life he used to lead his wife and daughter. --Dickens. 7. (Cards & Dominoes) To begin a game, round, or trick, with; as, to lead trumps; the double five was led. To lead astray, to guide in a wrong way, or into error; to seduce from truth or rectitude. To lead captive, to carry or bring into captivity. To lead the way, to show the way by going in front; to act as guide. --Goldsmith.
Lead"ing\, a. Guiding; directing; controlling; foremost; as, a leading motive; a leading man; a leading example. -- Lead"ing*ly, adv. Leading case (Law), a reported decision which has come to be regarded as settling the law of the question involved. --Abbott. Leading motive [a translation of G. leitmotif] (Mus.), a guiding theme; in the modern music drama of Wagner, a marked melodic phrase or short passage which always accompanies the reappearance of a certain person, situation, abstract idea, or allusion in the course of the play; a sort of musical label. Leading note (Mus.), the seventh note or tone in the ascending major scale; the sensible note. Leading question, a question so framed as to guide the person questioned in making his reply. Leading strings, strings by which children are supported when beginning to walk. To be in leading strings, to be in a state of infancy or dependence, or under the guidance of others. Leading wheel, a wheel situated before the driving wheels of a locomotive engine.
Mo"tive\, n. [F. motif, LL. motivum, from motivus moving, fr. L. movere, motum, to move. See Move.]1. That which moves; a mover. [Obs.] --Shak. 2. That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object. By motive, I mean the whole of that which moves, excites, or invites the mind to volition, whether that be one thing singly, or many things conjunctively. --J. Edwards. 3. (Mus.) The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also Leading motive, under Leading. [Written also motivo.] 4. (Fine Arts) That which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one. Syn: Incentive; incitement; inducement; reason; spur; stimulus; cause. Usage: Motive, Inducement, Reason. Motive is the word originally used in speaking of that which determines the choice. We call it an inducement when it is attractive in its nature. We call it a reason when it is more immediately addressed to the intellect in the form of argument.
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Audio Help [lee-ding] Pronunciation Key 
