leader

noun26

1. •
   a person in charge of a group of people, who decides what they should do
2. •
   One having authority to direct.

   • We elected her team leader.
3. •
   One who leads a political party or group of elected party members; sometimes used in titles.

   • Leader of the House of Commons
4. •
   A performer who leads a band, choir, or a section of an orchestra.
5. •
   (UK) The first violin in a symphony orchestra; the concertmaster.
6. •
   The dominant animal in a pack of animals, such as wolves or lions.

   • The gesture of licking and nipping a leader's muzzle is similar to the food-begging behavior of wolf pups and may be related to it. — 1987
7. •
   A person or organization that leads in a certain field in terms of excellence, success, etc.

   • The company is the leader in home remodeling in the county.
8. •
   (UK) The first, or the principal, editorial article in a newspaper; a leading or main editorial article; a lead story.
9. •
   Someone or something that leads or conducts.
10. •
    A pipe for conducting rain water from a roof to a cistern or to the ground.
11. •
    [in the plural] A row of dots, periods, or hyphens, used in tables of contents, etc., to lead the eye across a space to the right word or number.
12. •
    A net for leading fish into a pound, weir, etc.

    • when two wheels geer together, the one which communicates the motion to the other is called the driver or leader; and the wheel impelled is the follower — 1852
13. •
    A block of hard wood pierced with suitable holes for leading ropes in their proper places.
14. •
    The drive wheel in any kind of machinery.
15. •
    A section of line between the main fishing line and the snell of a hook, intended to be more resistant to bites and harder for a fish to detect than the main fishing line.
16. •
    A piece of material at the beginning or end of a reel or roll to allow the material to be threaded or fed onto something, as a reel of film onto a projector or a roll of paper onto a rotary printing press.

    • If you need to reload film, the cassette can be rewound slightly by turning the hub located on one end of its spool. Do not rewind so much that the leader disappears into the cassette. — 2011
17. •
    One who goes first.

    • Follow the leader.
18. •
    An animal that leads.
19. •
    An animal placed in advance of others, especially on a team of horse, oxen, or dogs.
20. •
    Either of the two front horses of a team of four in front of a carriage.

    • How proud felt Pierre: In fancy’s eye, he saw the horse-ghosts a-tandem in the van; “These are but wheelers”—cried young Pierre—“the leaders are the generations.” — 1852
21. •
    A loss leader or a popular product sold at a normal price.
22. •
    A fast-growing terminal shoot of a woody plant.

    • A strong central leader may result in essentially horizontal branches resembling a "telephone pole." — 1975
23. •
    The path taken by electrons from a cloud to ground level, determining the shape of a bolt of lightning.
24. •
    (old-fashioned) An intertitle.

    • The leader only runs three seconds, but it acts like a drop curtain in a theater. — 1913
25. •
    A type having a dot or short row of dots upon its face.
26. •
    A branch or small vein, not important in itself, but indicating the proximity of a better one.