lead
Usage
What are other ways to say lead?
To lead is to bring onward in a course, guiding by contact or by going in advance; hence, figuratively, to influence or induce to some course of conduct: to lead a procession; to lead astray. Guide implies continuous presence or agency in showing or indicating a course: to guide a traveler. To conduct is to precede or escort them to a place, sometimes with a degree of ceremony: to conduct a guest to his room. To direct is to give information for guidance, or instructions or orders for a course of procedure: to direct someone to the station.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He had been in the lead when the race entered its final 10 laps, more than half a second ahead of Pato O’Ward—his rival on track, and the best man at his wedding.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
It was far from a foregone conclusion that Russell would have converted his lead into a win in Montreal.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
In Europe, higher inflation is widely expected to lead the European Central Bank to increase rates in the coming weeks, increasing borrowing costs even as economic growth remains subdued.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
"Right away, I knew it was something really special," says Voight, curator emerita of invertebrates at the Field Museum in Chicago and the lead author of the study describing the new species.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
I pocket his money and walk away from them, letting my nose lead me to the sugar shack while I rub furiously at the mocking smiles, try to make them and what they represent disappear.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Vocabulary lists containing lead
Black and Gray
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Journalism
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Theater - Introductory
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