Lead (Noun)
Meaning 1
A soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element; bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes readily to dull grey; "the children were playing with lead soldiers".
Classification
Nouns denoting substances.
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Meaning 2
An actor who plays a principal role.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- Leonardo DiCaprio took the lead in the 1997 film "Titanic", a performance that would define his career.
- As a versatile actress, Julia Roberts had proven she could handle both comedy and drama in various leads.
- It took Denzel Washington six decades of practice before being approached with an impressive Broadway lead role.
- Being cast as the lead in "Spider-Man" was a turning point for Andrew Garfield's Hollywood career.
- Emma Stone took on the challenging lead in the dramatic film "La La Land", a role that would earn her a Golden Globe.
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Meaning 3
Thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
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Meaning 4
A position of being the initiator of something and an example that others will follow (especially in the phrase `take the lead'); "he takes the lead in any group"; "we were just waiting for someone to take the lead"; "they didn't follow our lead".
Classification
Nouns denoting acts or actions.
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 5
The angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile).
Classification
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes.
Meaning 6
An advantage held by a competitor in a race; "he took the lead at the last turn".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- The runner took the lead at the last turn and sprinted to the finish line.
- The team's star player helped them gain the lead in the championship game.
- The cyclist maintained a strong lead throughout the mountain stage of the tour.
- The favorite to win took an early lead and never looked back.
- The swimmer's powerful stroke allowed her to take the lead in the final lap.
Hypernyms
Meaning 7
(sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning.
Classification
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure.
Antonyms
Meaning 8
Evidence pointing to a possible solution; "the police are following a promising lead"; "the trail led straight to the perpetrator".
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
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Meaning 9
The introductory section of a story; "it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter".
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
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Meaning 10
Restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
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Meaning 11
A jumper that consists of a short piece of wire; "it was a tangle of jumper cables and clip leads".
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
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Meaning 12
(baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base; "he took a long lead off first".
Classification
Nouns denoting spatial position.
Hypernyms
Meaning 13
Mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
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Meaning 14
A news story of major importance.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
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Meaning 15
The timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine.
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
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Meaning 16
An indication of potential opportunity; "he got a tip on the stock market"; "a good lead for a job".
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
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Meaning 17
The playing of a card to start a trick in bridge; "the lead was in the dummy".
Classification
Nouns denoting acts or actions.