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.
Trump, the 2019 champion, lost four of the first five frames as Wilson, ranked 27th, moved into a 4-1 lead.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
The team were under pressure because they only had "two shots to get it right", added Williams, the lead author of a new study describing the results.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
“With a clear and present risk, and executive/boardroom buy-in, this should lead to a meaningfully more conducive cyber budget environment,” the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Health and Human Services secretary had been mired in the single digits in polling to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom and lead the nation’s most populous state.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
The one in the lead was a stout party, balder than any egg.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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Vocabulary lists containing lead
Black and Gray
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Journalism
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Theater - Introductory
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