conduct and lead share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. conduct means “direct the course of; manage or control”. lead means “an advantage held by a competitor in a race”. lead is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈkɑndəkt/
1.v.direct the course of; manage or control
“You cannot conduct business like this”
2.v.lead, as in the performance of a composition
“conduct an orchestra; Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for years”
3.v.behave in a certain manner
“She carried herself well”
/ˈlɛd/
1.n.an advantage held by a competitor in a race
“he took the lead at the last turn”
2.n.a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element; bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes readily to dull grey
“the children were playing with lead soldiers”
3.n.evidence pointing to a possible solution
“the police are following a promising lead”
| conduct | lead | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɑndəkt/ | /ˈlɛd/ |
| Said | KAHN-duhkt | led |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Letters | 7 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | noun, verb |
| Senses | 8 | 31 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | carry on, deal | none recorded |
Full entry for conduct · Full entry for lead · More comparisons