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Glite Dictionary
to lead up

to lead up

89 4.0
To cause events that prepare for something that happens later
  • phrasal verb
  • /liːd ʌp/
translation icon : preparar
  • I think it might lead up to a tour.
  • events leading up to
  • leading up to elections
  • months leading up to

And that's the process of filing a lawsuit and how to file motions and basically everything that leads up to going to trial in a lawsuit.

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Examples

  • All right, so basically like every day leading up to the legal ceremony and every day after was just so hectic.

  • Our journey began when we were stationed at a training camp in Essex, England in the weeks leading up to D-Day.

    D-Day Assassins (2019)

  • A lot of that happened leading up to it and the week before.

  • Months of planning had led up to this.

    Finger of God 2 (2018)

  • My entire life has been leading up to this very moment.

    Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)

  • What I need to know is what you experienced in the days leading up to it.

    Smile (2022)

  • It took weeks of planning to lead up to the big event, but it was well worth it.

    Moneyball (2011)

  • Israeli planes were in the air continuously in the days leading up to the war.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Relative political peace prevailed in Congo over the four months leading up to the May elections.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Everything I've done has been strategic to lead up to this very moment.

Synonyms

to set the stage
vsto lead up
42 3.9

Prepare conditions that make an event or change likely

can also directly cause or initiate the event as well as prepare for it
to tee up
vsto lead up
  • Informal
3 5.2

To get something ready for the next step

prepares broader prior conditions to bring the event about rather than only the next step

Antonyms

to prevent
∞ 2.3

Stop something from happening or someone from doing it

to hinder
75 3.6

To make it difficult for people or things to do something

How Preparatory

to lead up
89 4.0
to prepare for
487 2.8
to foreshadow
16 6.2
hint
229 1.5

Surface Forms

lead up infinitive
leading up present participle
leads up third person singular
led up past
led up past participle

Morphology

lead + up

The verb 'lead' (to cause or guide) combined with the directional particle 'up' yields a meaning of guiding or bringing something toward a point, so a learner who knows both words can partly infer 'lead up' as preparing or causing something to happen. However, the particle 'up' contributes a metaphorical/directional nuance and the full phrasal-verb usage (often requiring 'to' as in 'lead up to') is not entirely predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

The phrasal verb lead up comes from the image of a path or steps that lead you up to a stage or door. So, when small events lead up to something, they 'prepare or cause something to happen'.