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lead up to

/ ��ː�� /

verb

to act as a preliminary or introduction to
to approach (a topic) gradually or cautiously

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Idioms and Phrases

Prepare gradually for, result in gradually, as in These events clearly led up to the coup , or His remarks led up to the main point of the speech, that he was going to resign next year . [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

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England's depth is unmatched across the Six Nations, with head coach John Mitchell clear in the lead up to the championship that he needed to develop "two teams" to compete this year.

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In the hallowed name of realism, Mendoza and Garland include all of the moments of nothing that lead up to a full-on attack from the American enemy.

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It was a big campaign issue in the lead up to last December's elections.

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It takes seven chapters to lead up to the crushing event.

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Alba was set up by Salmond in the lead up to the 2021 Holyrood election.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

lead up the garden path Leadville

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