What is the past tense of lead?

The past tense of "lead" is "led." It is an irregular verb, meaning that its past tense form does not follow the typical pattern of adding "-ed" to the base form of the verb.

For example:

• Present tense: He leads the team.
• Past tense: He led the team.

It is important to note the difference in spelling between "lead" (the present tense form of the verb, pronounced like "leed") and "lead" (the noun referring to the metallic element, pronounced like "led").