lede

noun

: the introductory section of a news story that is intended to entice the reader to read the full story

Examples of lede in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Red Hat's post was a rich example of burying the lede and a decisive moment for many who follow the tricky balance of Red Hat's open source commitments and service contract business. Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 30 June 2023 Clyde Haberman had a clever lede in his obit: James Hoge, who was a blue-blooded editor and publisher of blue-collar newspapers in Chicago and New York for a quarter-century and then long guided a leading journal on international relations . . . Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 29 Sep. 2023 However, despite the dominant themes of enemies and bad reputation, the underlying lede is the secret romance evolving despite them. Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2023 If the function of a lede is to engage the reader, this article’s lede seemed to me remarkably effective. The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2021 Burying the lede a bit, the filmmakers don’t tell us, or remind us, till very late in the film that Washburn also established, developed and served as director of the Boston Museum of Science from 1939 to 1980 and that his wife, Barbara, was the first woman to climb Mount McKinley. John Anderson, WSJ, 5 May 2022 Really not the best lede, but the story’s good. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 2 June 2012 Talk about burying the lede! Willard Spiegelman, WSJ, 27 Jan. 2023 What a lede! The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lede.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of lead entry 2

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lede was in 1947

Dictionary Entries Near lede

Cite this Entry

“Lede.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lede. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!