take the lead

idiom

: to take a position that is ahead of others : go first

You take the lead and we'll follow right behind you.

: 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 figuratively

Their company has taken the lead in developing this new technology.

Examples of take the lead in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And in the event the countries do find themselves at risk of a hot conflict, the United States should push a coalition of Indo-Pacific countries, including Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam—whose aggregate power roughly matches that of China—to take the lead in containing Beijing. —

Andrew Byers, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2024 And then, at least in certain social contexts, men are often still expected to take the lead in initiating romantic encounters with women. —

Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024 Saturn retrograde pushes people to take the lead and speak their minds. —

Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 28 June 2024 Photo: Getty Images Paavo Nurmi of Finland (far left) prepares to take the lead in the 3,000-meter. —

Marley Marius, Vogue, 22 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for take the lead

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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“Take the lead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20the%20lead. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.

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