lead-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈlēd-ˌəp 

: something that leads up to or prepares the way for something else

lead up

2 of 2

verb

ˈlēd- 

led up; leading up; leads up

intransitive verb

1

: to prepare the way

2

: to make a gradual or indirect approach to a topic

Examples of lead-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And around the county, voters will narrow down their fields of candidates for Congress and the state Legislature — in a lead-up to November midterm general elections that could decide which party controls Congress. —Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026

The couple, who married in an intimate ceremony in 2010 and have two children, rarely talk about their relationship as a couple, but on this occasion, the star of The Good Patron made an exception in an interview with Variety in the lead-up to to the Cannes Film Festival. —Nuria Hernández, Vanity Fair, 7 May 2026

Verb

Farther north in Lake County, Hawthorn had faced the loss of several major tenants in the years leading up to the pandemic. —Audrey Pachuta, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026

Setting the bar even higher, Whitt aims for similar gains leading up to summer practices. —Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1942, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1861, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lead-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

lead up

verb

(ˈ)lēd-ˈəp 

: to make a gradual approach to a topic