lead up to

lead up to (third-person singular simple present leads up to, present participle leading up to, simple past and past participle led up to)

1. (idiomatic) To set in motion; to act as a causal or preparatory event or sequence of events.
   • 1978, H. Th. J. F. van Maarseveen, ‎Ger F. M. van der Tang, Written Constitutions: A Computerized Comparative Study, →ISBN, page 242:

     If it is a new constitution, the historico-legal method is probably the most appropriate, since the events leading up to the introduction of the constitution are still so recent and relevant that they must be used for guidance when the constitution is interpreted.

   • 2000, Donald Gibson, The Kennedy Assassination Cover-up, →ISBN, page 34:

     North not only makes Hoover primary in the FBI's complicity in the cover-up, a fairly common mistake, but also attempts to implicate Hoover in events leading up to the assassination.

   • 2005, Walter J. Ong, Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue, →ISBN:

     Sometimes one feels that Ramus is about to apply his notion of genesis to the abstractive process itself so as to include the steps which lead up to, or can lead up to, scientific knowledge, instead of restricting it to the abstractionist approach of his invention and disposition.

2. To precede in time.
   • 1998, International Monetary Fund, Leading Indicators of Banking Crises: Was Asia Different?, →ISBN:

     With these objectives we examine developments in the years leading up to and including 43 episodes of financial sector distress or crisis (including episodes of repeat crisis) in a total sample of 50 countries.

   • 2009, Gary Gilchrist, ‎Susan Hill, ‎& Jeff Troesch, Going for the Green: Prepare Your Body, Mind, and Swing for Winning Golf, →ISBN:

     Before the event, the players sometimes attempt to integrate certain equipment or shots into their repertoire in events that lead up to the major.

   • 2015, Laurie Joslin & ‎Laurie Sudbrink, Leading with GRIT, →ISBN, page 1:

     While you imagined the white sand beaches, the sun warming your skin, and the sound of the waves crashing, your workdays leading up to your departure went by faster, you worked harder, and you were happier.

3. To follow or mark a path toward.
   • 1828, William Henry Ireland, England's topographer:

     The old larder gate now serves as the common way to the church, for those who live on the north side, where eighteen or nineteen stone steps lead up to a paved alley, once a gallery of the dormitories, dorture, or lodging rooms of the monks, now for the most part in ruins, or converted to gardens, which we shall next proceed to describe.

   • 2011, Vithal Rajan, Holmes of the Raj, →ISBN:

     A keen sportsman, he had draped half the walls of his palace with tiger skins, while several more skins were laid end to end to lead up to the throne.

   • 2012, Carolyn O'Brien, Legacy of Chariton House, →ISBN:

     More Georgia red clay brick lead up to a screened sun porch, even the brick work was bulging upward at the base.

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