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.
See Examples For:
“The state is the lead in this investigation, has always been the lead,” a spokesman said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The second is that bubbles suck in investor capital and lead it to be misallocated, slowing the growth of the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Pádraig Ó Duinnín project lead on behalf of Belfast City Council for the Gig Rig at City Hall, said he was "excited to get started"
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The finding may eventually lead to treatments that make statins easier to tolerate without reducing their important cardiovascular benefits.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
If Pili was the last person to have checked it out, then maybe, just maybe, there was some information that could lead Danny to her.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Trinity Large is still much smaller than the top AI models and trails models from Anthropic and OpenAI on many leading benchmarks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
After scoring 23 goals from 23 shots, Nweke missed just before half-time to leave the two-time winners leading 29-24, with hope remaining for a comeback for Anna Stembridge's side.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Detectives said DNA evidence, surveillance footage and other forensic material remain under review, and more than $1 million in reward money is still being offered for information leading to a breakthrough.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
One leading idea is that evolution reused biological systems that already existed.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
If this is what the earthquakes had been leading to, well, everyone was a bit disappointed.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
The post-financial-crisis era of easy money has led to repeated booms and busts in small, and sometimes not-so-small, parts of the market in the past 15 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The video led viewers on an eight-minute tour of Savannah’s past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
It led them on a mile-long chase, ending in the 2400 block of Wandering Ridge Drive, where they ordered the driver and a passenger out of the vehicle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
He also noted that a retired professor had previously raised concerns about Arday's subsequent academic articles, which led to two journals issuing correction notes.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The small home was built into a mossy hillside, making it impossible to find if one was not led there by the Afterlife.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Vocabulary lists containing lead
Black and Gray
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Journalism
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Theater - Introductory
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