lead time

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

lead time (countable and uncountable, plural lead times)

1. (idiomatic) The amount of time between the initiation of some process and its completion, e.g. the time required to manufacture or procure a product; the time required before something can be provided or delivered.

   It's an excellent device, but it has a 10-week lead time, so be sure to order it in advance.

   • 2019 October, “Chase Line service to be split next May”, in Modern Railways, page 17:

     With long lead times in timetable planning WMT [West Midlands Trains] has stated that the earliest it can recast the timetable will be May 2020.

Translations

the amount of time between the initiation of some process and its completion

• Finnish: läpimenoaika
• French: délai de mise en œuvre m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: ledtid c

See also

• critical path

References

• “lead time”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• deli meat, meal-tide, mealtide