English pronunciation

How to pronounce “lead

Phonetic spelling

LED

IPA /ˈɫɛd/

Syllable stress

led

Stress falls on the highlighted syllable.

How do you spell “lead”?

l e a d

lead” is spelled L-E-A-D. It is pronounced LED, so the spelling and the sound do not match letter for letter. Listen to the audio above and say it aloud while you read the letters.

Hear it in a sentence

  • The pencil's lead broke while I was writing.

  • They used a lead pipe for the plumbing.

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