gain the lead
idiom
: to take the winning position in a race or competition
Her car has gained the lead.
Our team gained the lead in the eighth inning.
—often used figurativelyTheir company has gained the lead in developing this new technology.
Examples of gain the lead in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Then West can’t gain the lead, and South loses only one more trick to East’s high trump.
—
Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2024
The teams continued to fight to gain the lead, but each were unable to add another point to their final tallies by the end.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 27 July 2023
While Caroline Ducharme’s layup would briefly give the Huskies the lead, a Georgia Tech free throw evened the score once more, and both teams lost chances to gain the lead in the final minute of the period.
—Alexa Philippou, courant.com, 9 Dec. 2021
But the third-year sophomore left the sideline early for the locker room before halftime and returned in street clothes and wearing a walking boot during the second half while Fresno State, which closed a 14-0 deficit to 21-13 at halftime, rallied to gain the lead.
—oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2021
Fi Fi Pharoah showed her royal breeding by coming from last, making a move on the far turn and then going four wide into the stretch to gain the lead and win by half-a-length.
—John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2021
The second Kentucky batter walked up and homered to gain the lead.
—Giana Han, al, 27 Mar. 2021
Temple had shot a hot 8 of 12 (66.7%) in the second quarter in outscoring Tulane 19-13 to gain the lead.
—Darrell Williams, NOLA.com, 30 Jan. 2021
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Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2024
The teams continued to fight to gain the lead, but each were unable to add another point to their final tallies by the end.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 27 July 2023
While Caroline Ducharme’s layup would briefly give the Huskies the lead, a Georgia Tech free throw evened the score once more, and both teams lost chances to gain the lead in the final minute of the period.
—Alexa Philippou, courant.com, 9 Dec. 2021
But the third-year sophomore left the sideline early for the locker room before halftime and returned in street clothes and wearing a walking boot during the second half while Fresno State, which closed a 14-0 deficit to 21-13 at halftime, rallied to gain the lead.
—oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2021
Fi Fi Pharoah showed her royal breeding by coming from last, making a move on the far turn and then going four wide into the stretch to gain the lead and win by half-a-length.
—John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2021
The second Kentucky batter walked up and homered to gain the lead.
—Giana Han, al, 27 Mar. 2021
Temple had shot a hot 8 of 12 (66.7%) in the second quarter in outscoring Tulane 19-13 to gain the lead.
—Darrell Williams, NOLA.com, 30 Jan. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Gain the lead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gain%20the%20lead. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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