(pronounced LEED-time)

This term is used in various industries, but you will hear it a lot in the interior A&D community. Designers, architects, sales reps, purchasing agents and contractors will use it most often to describe the amount of time required to receive a product after the time it is ordered. For example, it’s common for a designer to ask a sales rep: “How long is the lead-time on your product? We really love it, but our client has to be functioning in the space in six weeks!” In a product development context, it is the time needed to design a product (and work out all the kinks) before it can be manufactured. In broad terms — and in most any industry — it can be used to mean the amount of time between the initial stage of a project / policy and the actual appearance of results. (Note: You will see this word both hyphenated and not hyphenated. Whatever floats your boat.)