Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of lead

16 similar words

Another word for lead is plumbum. Other synonyms of lead are leaden, plumbic, plumbous, leaded and leady.

Synonyms and similar words for lead

nounA heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished...

  • plumbumSynonym of lead, chiefly in scientific contexts.

nounA thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing.

  • leadenMade of lead.
  • plumbicOf, pertaining to, resembling, or containing lead.
  • plumbousOf, pertaining to, resembling, or containing lead.
  • leaded
  • leadySynonym of leaden, of or related to the metal lead.
  • saturnine archaic

nounA thin cylinder of graphite used in pencils.

  • pencil leadThe material (usually black or dark gray) which allows a pencil to work. Usually a mixture of graphite and smaller...

verbTo conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; to command, especially a...

  • spearheadTo drive or campaign ardently for (an effort, project, etc.); to direct.

verbTo go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among.

  • headTo come at the beginning or front of; to commence.
  • frontTo lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.).

verbTo be a cause of.

  • lead toUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lead, to.

nounThe introductory paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper, or a news or other type of article....

  • lead paragraphSynonym of lead (“the introductory paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper, or a news or other type of article”).

adjectiveForemost.

Meaning of lead

  1. noun A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82.
  2. noun A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea or to estimate velocity in knots.
  3. noun A thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing.

Full definition of lead

lead in other languages

Questions about synonyms of lead

What is another word for lead?
Lead has 16 synonyms on Word.ws, such as plumbum, leaden, plumbic, plumbous, leaded, leady, saturnine and pencil lead.
What does lead mean?
Lead means a heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lead (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of lead.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/lead. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.