lead on

verb

led on; leading on; leads on

transitive verb

: to entice or induce to adopt or continue in a course or belief especially when unwise or mistaken

Examples of lead on in a Sentence

a con man whose dupes are usually led on by their own greed and eagerness to turn an easy buck
Recent Examples on the Web Still, predominately young adult apartment searchers flood Facebook housing groups, searching for any leads on finding affordable housing in Southern California’s competitive rental market. Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 But another problem remains: the United States itself, which, along with a broader group of institutions and countries that for the most part follow the Americans’ lead on Haiti policy, has made too many bad choices for Haiti in the past to inspire confidence. Amy Wilentz, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024 As the race pivots to Super Tuesday, the vast map seems tailor-made for Trump to roll up an insurmountable lead on Haley. Nicholas Riccardi, The Denver Post, 29 Feb. 2024 The Florida Panthers’ lead on the Buffalo Sabres shrunk to a single goal with a little more than seven minutes left and yet the Panthers hardly looked fazed. David Wilson, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2024 The Kings staged a 10-2 run to take a 43-34 lead and went up by 10 with 6:03 to play in the first half, but the Heat battled back to take a 62-61 lead on a 3-pointer by Highsmith. Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 27 Feb. 2024 Even though conventional thinking will stray to what might have been -the possibility of at least a 150 lead on first innings -England did show their mettle in coming back hard against a team that hasn’t lost a series for 12 years on home turf. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 State bolted to a 16-2 lead on the way to a 19-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Curt Rallo, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024 One of the most prolific is Abhishek Rai, who has racked up more than 3,000 five-star reviews offering leads on motivated sellers, vacant properties or absentee owners since joining the platform in April 2020. Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lead on.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lead on was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near lead on

Cite this Entry

“Lead on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead%20on. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lead on

verb
: to persuade to take up or continue in a course of action or belief when unwise or mistaken
led on by the promise of wealth
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!