the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge; "the lead was in the dummy"
a position of leadership (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"
mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil
thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing
an advantage held by a competitor in a race; "he took the lead at the last turn"
evidence pointing to a possible solution; "the police are following a promising lead"; "the trail led straight to the perpetrator"
the introductory section of a story; "it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter"
a news story of major importance
(baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base; "he took a long lead off first"
(sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning
the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)
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"
cause to undertake a certain action; "Her greed led her to forge the checks"
travel in front of; go in advance of others; "The procession was headed by John"
take somebody somewhere; "We lead him to our chief"; "can you take me to the main entrance?"; "He conducted us to the palace"
tend to or result in; "This remark lead to further arguments among the guests"
be ahead of others; be the first; "she topped her class every year"
deserving of the highest esteem or admiration; "an estimable young professor"; "trains ran with admirable precision"; "his taste was impeccable, his health admirable"
inspiring admiration or approval; "among her many admirable qualities are generosity and graciousness"
having or revealing supreme mastery or skill; "a consummate artist"; "consummate skill"; "a masterful speaker"; "masterful technique"; "a masterly performance of the sonata"; "a virtuoso performance"
a commercial product that refills a container with its appropriate contents; "he got a refill for his ball-point pen"; "he got a refill for his notebook"
a prescription drug that is provided again; "he got a refill of his prescription"; "the prescription specified only one refill"
a never-ending cycle of activities and events (especially when they seem to have little purpose); "if we lose the election the whole legislative merry-go-round will have to start over"
very close; "without my reading glasses I can hardly see things close up"; "even firing at close range he missed"
refuse to talk or stop talking; fall silent; "The children shut up when their father approached"
unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of; "close the circuit"; "close a wound"; "close a book"; "close up an umbrella"
cease to operate or cause to cease operating; "The owners decided to move and to close the factory"; "My business closes every night at 8 P.M."; "close up the shop"