ADJ

moral

VERB + LEAD

give, take
The government should give a lead in tackling racism
follow

PREP

~ in
We should follow their lead in banning chemical weapons

ADJ

big, clear, comfortable, commanding, good, strong
narrow
overall
early

VERB + LEAD

be in, have
She has a narrow lead over the other runners
go into, move into, take
They took an early lead
build up, establish
The team has now built up a commanding lead
hold, maintain
lose
regain
They regained the lead with only a few minutes left to play
put sb/sth (back) into
extend, increase
Sheffield increased their lead just before half time
give

PREP

in/into the ~
struggling to stay in the lead
~ over
This win gives the team a two-point lead over their closest rival

ADJ

romantic
female, male

VERB + LEAD

play
Her big break came when she was chosen to play the lead in a Broadway musical

LEAD + NOUN

role
singer
guitar, guitarist

ADJ

good
new
possible
The police are following every possible lead

VERB + LEAD

have
follow, pursue
give

PREP

~ on
leads on the murderer's identity

ADV

back, on
'Lead on!' said Arnold

VERB + LEAD

help (to)
Five people helping to lead a convoy of aid are feared dead
allow sb to, let sb
Let me lead the way

PREP

along, down, into, out of, through, to, etc.
She led them along a dark corridor to a small room

PHRASES

lead the way
You lead the way and we'll follow

ADV

directly
back, down, up
An old track led back through the wood
nowhere, somewhere (often figurative)
Often there are discoveries which lead nowhere

PREP

from, onto
The gardens lead directly onto a beach
to
a path leading from the village to the old church

ADV

normally, usually
inevitably, inexorably
Industrialization inevitably led to the expansion of the urban working class
(almost) certainly, undoubtedly
not necessarily
The use of soft drugs does not necessarily lead to a progression to hard drugs
automatically
Business success does not automatically lead to financial success
naturally
Discussion of a client's tax affairs will lead naturally into consideration of investment options
directly
indirectly
eventually, ultimately

VERB + LEAD

can/could (easily/only), may/might (well), must
Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods. The carbon tax might well lead to a doubling of prices for fossil fuels
appear to, seem to
be expected to, be likely to, tend to
Worrying about your weight is more likely to lead to comforting yourself with a piece of chocolate
be bound to

PREP

to
the events that led eventually to war