Lead vs. Led
Lead is the base/present form of the verb meaning guide or be in front, pronounced /liːd/ in that use. Led is its past tense and past participle, pronounced /led/. The spelling lead is also a noun for the metal pronounced /led/, which creates a separate homograph trap.
Use lead for the present/base verb (“They lead the team”) and led for the past or past participle (“They led the team”). The metal lead is spelled lead but pronounced like led.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Need | Choose | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| present/base verb: guide/control | lead | /liːd/ |
| past/past participle of the verb | led | /led/ |
| metal noun | lead | /led/ |
Quick tests
Tense test
Does the sentence need the past tense or past participle of the verb meaning guide/control?
If yes: Use led.
If no: Use lead for the base/present verb; if the meaning is the metal, the spelling is also lead.
Caveat: The metal noun lead is a homograph pronounced like led, so pronunciation alone is not enough without meaning/role.
Examples
She leads the research team now.
Lead is the present-tense verb; with she it appears as leads.
She led the research team last year.
Led is the past tense of the verb lead.
She lead the research team last year.
Better: She led the research team last year.
The past-tense verb is led, not lead.
Further guidance
Homograph Boundary
Lead the verb is pronounced /liːd/; lead the metal noun is pronounced /led/. Led is pronounced /led/.
Spelling Boundary
Do not write lead for the past tense of the guide/control verb merely because the metal noun has the /led/ pronunciation.
Tense Boundary
Cambridge gives led as the past tense and past participle of the verb lead.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- LEAD — English meaning (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Lead verb, led past/participle, and lead metal homograph
- LED — English meaning (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Led as past tense and past participle of lead
- How to pronounce LEAD in English (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Pronunciation split: lead verb /liːd/ versus lead metal /led/