lead
part of speech
verb (lead, leads, led, leading) — said «leed»; noun (a lead, leads) — said «leed»; noun (lead — the metal) — said «led»
meaning for a pupil
1) To lead (leed) is to go in front and show the way, or to be in charge of a group. tree →
2) To lead is to be winning: «Our team leads by two goals». tree →
3) To lead to something is to cause it or go to it: «This path leads to the beach». tree →
4) A lead (leed) is a strap for a dog (US: leash), or a wire for electricity. tree →
5) The lead (leed) is first place, or the main part in a play. tree →
6) Lead (led) is a soft, heavy, grey metal, poisonous if swallowed. tree →
7) Pencil «lead» (led) is really graphite, not the metal. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories, a hero leads others, and «the lead role» is the main character. In sport and maths problems, «lead by 3» means 3 points more than the other team. In science, lead is a heavy metal used to block X-rays; old paint and pipes with lead are harmful. In pet safety, keep dogs on a lead near roads. Phrases: «take the lead», «lead the way», «lead to», «follow someone's lead».
examples
- Please lead the way to the hall. tree →
- Our team is in the lead. tree →
- Keep your dog on a lead near the road. tree →
- This road leads to the village. tree →
- She will lead the class assembly. tree →
- Too much screen time can lead to poor sleep. tree →
- Lead is a very heavy metal. tree →
- My pencil lead broke. tree →
- False confidence often leads to disaster. tree →
note
Two words in one spelling: «lead» (leed, to guide) and «lead» (led, the metal). The past of lead (leed) is «led» — it sounds like the metal; do not write «lead» for the past. Maths: «leads by 3 points» = difference of 3.
In the corpora
- Separating means parents stop living together as a couple; it may lead to a divorce, but not always straight away.
- The curtain call is the bows at the end, and it is rehearsed, often with the lead bowing last.
- Warmer sand gives more girl hatchlings and cooler sand more boys, and bright beach lights can lead hatchlings the wrong way.
- Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups of about 6 to 30 led by females, who get first choice of food.
- Sumatran elephants are the smallest Asian elephants, and some trained elephants help rangers patrol the forest and lead wild elephants away from farms.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «lead» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.