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How is the chemical element lead pronounced in British English and American English? This seems to be difficult to search, because of the verb lead. Merriam-Webster lists

lead noun \ˈlēd\

but the audio pronunciation is \liid\.

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    \liid\ sounds more South African to me than either British or American. – AndyT Apr 26 '17 at 9:06
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    Lead as a noun pronounced /li:d/ or \ˈlēd\ using MW symbols (long ee sound) is what you put on a dog's collar to stop it running off. It's directly related to the verb pronounced the same way. – Andrew Leach♦ Apr 26 '17 at 10:00
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    You are looking at the wrong noun. Check the definition--that one says " leadership". The MW entry for the element, with the correct pronunciation \ˈled\, is listed further down the page. The transcription \ˈlēd\ matches the audio: "ē" is the symbol used in MW for the IPA sound /i/. – sumelic Apr 26 '17 at 15:45
  • The MW gives the pronunciation of the chemical element further down the page (\ˈled), under lead 4,and the audio matches it. If the dictionariy you are consulting doesn't specify a BrE pronunciation, you might want to check a dictionary published in... Britain. – AmE speaker Apr 26 '17 at 16:24
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"Lead" in the sense of the metal is pronounced as /lɛd/ (to rhyme with "bed") in both British and American English.

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    And there is no significant variation between AmE and BrE. – MikeRoger Apr 26 '17 at 9:03
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    Indeed! I have made that addition to my answer to be explicit about it. – Miztli Apr 26 '17 at 9:05

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