take the lead
idiom
1
: to take a position that is ahead of others : go first
You take the lead and we'll follow right behind you.
2
: to take the winning position in a race or competition
Her car has taken the lead.
Our team took the lead in the eighth inning.
—often used figurativelyTheir company has taken the lead in developing this new technology.
Examples of take the lead in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On Tuesday, May 14, ABC announced that Vassos, 61, will take the lead as the first Golden Bachelorette this fall after appearing on the first season of The Golden Bachelor.
—
Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 15 May 2024
Monte Vista loaded the bases in the third, fourth and fifth innings but couldn’t take the lead away from the Colts, despite Logan committing four fielding errors.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 15 May 2024
That gave Keselowski the opportunity to take the lead with nine laps left.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2024
Tesla’s Pullback: The automaker led by Elon Musk is no longer planning to take the lead in expanding the number of places to fuel electric vehicles.
—Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Munger routinely let Buffett take the lead with expansive responses that went on for several minutes.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 4 May 2024
Boeing announced this morning that CEO Dave Calhoun would depart the company and that an executive with three decades of tenure at the $117 billion manufacturing company, Stephanie Pope, would take the lead of the commercial airplanes division.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
Member states would still be responsible for developing their own military forces, but the EU could take the lead in procuring expensive aircraft fleets or building a common stockpile of munitions.
—Max Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2024
But where artists like Mr. Smithson used bulldozers and earthmovers to create radically monumental alterations in the landscape, Mr. Singer let nature take the lead.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 15 May 2024
Monte Vista loaded the bases in the third, fourth and fifth innings but couldn’t take the lead away from the Colts, despite Logan committing four fielding errors.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 15 May 2024
That gave Keselowski the opportunity to take the lead with nine laps left.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2024
Tesla’s Pullback: The automaker led by Elon Musk is no longer planning to take the lead in expanding the number of places to fuel electric vehicles.
—Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Munger routinely let Buffett take the lead with expansive responses that went on for several minutes.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 4 May 2024
Boeing announced this morning that CEO Dave Calhoun would depart the company and that an executive with three decades of tenure at the $117 billion manufacturing company, Stephanie Pope, would take the lead of the commercial airplanes division.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
Member states would still be responsible for developing their own military forces, but the EU could take the lead in procuring expensive aircraft fleets or building a common stockpile of munitions.
—Max Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2024
But where artists like Mr. Smithson used bulldozers and earthmovers to create radically monumental alterations in the landscape, Mr. Singer let nature take the lead.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take the lead.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Take the lead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20the%20lead. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
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