Lead paragraph

A lead, or lede paragraph in literature is the opening paragraph of an article, essay, news story or book chapter. Often called the lead, it usually occurs together with the headline or title. It precedes the main body of the article, and it gives the reader the main idea of the story. In both spellings, the word rhymes with the word need.

Spelling

In the journalism industry's news style, particularly in the United States, the term is often spelled "lede", to differentiate it from the metal lead (pronounced lehd), which was used in hot metal typesetting. This spelling may be found in online US dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster.com (though not in their print versions) and TheFreeDictionary.com.

Other introductions

In journalism, the lead paragraph should not be confused with the standfirst (UK), rider, kicker, bank head(line), or subhead (US). These terms refer to an introductory or summary line or brief paragraph, located immediately above or below the headline, and typographically distinct from the body of the article.