something that provides an approach to or preparation for an event or situation.
1917, from lead (v.1) + up (adv.).
[led-vil] /ˈlɛd vɪl/ noun 1. a town in central Colorado: historic mining boom town.
[led] /lɛd/ noun 1. a poisonous pigment used in painting, consisting of white lead and characterized chiefly by a fugitive white color, covering power, and tough, flexible film-forming properties.
[led-wurt, -wawrt] /ˈlɛdˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt/ noun 1. any plant or shrub of the genus Plumbago, having spikes of blue, white, or red flowers. /ˈlɛdˌwɜːt/ noun 1. any shrub of the plumbaginaceous genus Plumbago, of tropical and subtropical regions, with red, blue, or white flowers
noun 1. the plant family Plumbaginaceae, characterized by shrubs and herbaceous plants of seacoasts and semiarid regions, having basal or alternate leaves, spikelike clusters of tubular flowers, and dry, one-seeded fruit, and including leadwort, sea lavender, statice, and thrift.