“ Lead is found on the periodic table of elements.”īritish English speakers also use plural leads as a noun while referring to their roofs or windowpane frames (which are made of lead, go-figure). It’s common to use the word lead as a noun in phrases such as, The soft, metallic element of lead is an attributive noun that represents objects they’re apart of, whether its bullets, tetraethyl lead, the graphite in pencils, the spacers used within press printing, or “ leads” for roofing and window materials. Words that rhyme with lead (metal) and led: The metal lead and led (the past-tenses of lead) is pronounced as “ leh-d,” and with one syllable and a short e sound.Īnother way to learn their pronunciation is to look at which words rhyme with lead and led in their specific contexts: The word lead of “ leader” or “ leadership” is pronounced as “ leed,” with one syllable and a long e sound. But this only applies to lead as a metal vs. In this case, lead and led are homophones because they’re spelled differently and pronounced the same. However, when lead is a metal, it’s pronounced the same as led. If we’re writing about a leader or the topic of leadership, the word led is simply the past participle form of the verb lead. led in terms of leadership, learning the difference between the terms is simple. We know, it’s kind of confusing, but don’t be discouraged! If we stick to lead vs. The word led is simply the past participle of the verb lead.Īlternatively, lead is also a noun for unrelated subjects like water channels, nail measurements, or British dog leashes and lead-metal objects. The word lead is the imperative and infinitive form of the verb ‘ to lead,’ which is additionally written for the present tense. But, sometimes, the word lead is a noun when it’s used to describe the person who’s in the role of leadership. When it comes to leadership, the words lead and led are merely describing the action of leadership: to lead. Somebody who is a boss, manager, teacher, coach, or representative are all theoretical examples of a leader. Regardless of the context, a leader is a person with a leadership role, where they are in command of others, they construct guidelines, and set an example of the type of standards they enforce. In contrast, leadership is an action and a role where somebody is responsible for other people, places, or things. Outside of the element lead, other metal examples include copper, gold, or silver. Metal is a shiny material that conducts electricity. If you’re discussing the heavy metal lead, the word led is not related whatsoever. The two ways to understand lead involves whether we’re talking about leadership or metal, which are two separate topics. Lead and led are commonly confused words because the word lead carries two different meanings, and because lead and led are homophones (sometimes). It could be because of the noun lead which rhymes with led.īut most likely, it’s hard to remember if the past tense is lead or led because the past tense of read is… read (which also rhymes with red).What is the difference between lead vs.

It could be because of words like bread, head, dead, thread, stead, dread, and spread. Her chosen course of study led to a degree in forensics. We were led to believe there would be snacks.

The bread crumbs led the children back to their home. The parade was led by a row of baton twirlers. The search dog led us right to the suspect. The verb lead, which rhymes with bleed, has a past tense (like most verbs) and that past tense rhymes with bed.

Lead past perfect tense