lay Hear it!

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lay1 definition

lay (lā)

transitive verb laid, laying lay′·ing

  1. to cause to come down or fall with force; knock down, as from an erect position a blow laid him low
  2. to cause to lie; place or put so as to be in a resting or recumbent position; deposit: often with on or in lay the pen on the desk
    1. to put down or place (bricks, carpeting, etc.) in the correct position or way for a specific purpose
    2. to cause to be situated in a particular place or condition the scene is laid in France
    3. to establish or prepare as a basis or for use to lay the groundwork
    4. to arrange the fuel in a fireplace for (a fire)
  4. to place; put; set: esp. of something abstract to lay emphasis on accuracy
  5. to produce and deposit (an egg or eggs)
    1. to cause to subside or settle lay the dust
    2. to allay, suppress, overcome, or appease to lay a ghost, lay one's fears
  7. to press or smooth down to lay the nap of cloth
  8. to bet (a specified sum, etc.)
  9. to impose or place (a tax, penalty, etc. on or upon)
  10. to work out; devise to lay plans
  11. to prepare (a table) for a meal; set with silverware, plates, etc.
  12. to advance, present, or assert to lay claim to property, to lay a matter before the voters
  13. to attribute; ascribe; charge; impute to lay the blame on someone
  14. to arrange and twist together (strands) so as to form (rope, yarn, etc.)
  15. ☆ Slang to have sexual intercourse with
  16. Mil. to aim (a gun) by adjusting its direction and elevation

Etymology: ME leyen, new formation < 3d pers. sing. of earlier leggen < OE lecgan, lit., to make lie (akin to Goth lagjan, Ger legen) < pt. base of OE licgan, to lie

intransitive verb

  1. to lay an egg or eggs
  2. to bet; wager
  3. to lie; recline: a dialectal or substandard usage
  4. Dialectal to get ready; plan laying to rob a store
  5. Naut. to go; proceed all hands, lay aft to the fantail!

noun

  1. the way or position in which something is situated or arranged the lay of the land
  2. ☆ a share in the profits of some enterprise, esp. of a whaling expedition
  3. the direction or amount of twist of the strands of a rope, cable, etc.
  4. ☆ Informal terms of employment, a sale, etc.
  5. ☆ Slang
    1. an instance of sexual intercourse
    2. a person regarded as a sexual partner
  6. Chiefly Brit., Slang one's occupation, esp. as a criminal
lay Idioms

lay about one

to deliver blows on all sides; strike out in every direction

lay a course

  1. Naut. to proceed in a certain direction without the need for tacking
  2. to make plans to do something

lay aside

  1. to put to one side; lay out of the way
  2. to save; lay away

lay away

  1. to set aside for future use; save
  2. ☆ to set (merchandise) aside for future delivery
  3. ☆ to bury: usually in the passive

lay by

  1. to save; lay away
  2. Dialectal
    1. ☆ to cultivate (a crop) for the last time
    2. to harvest and store (a crop or crops)

lay down

  1. to sacrifice or give up (one's life)
  2. to assert or declare emphatically
  3. to bet; wager
  4. to store away, as wine in a cellar

lay for

Informal to be waiting to attack

lay in

to get and store away

lay into

Slang
  1. to attack and hit repeatedly; beat
  2. to attack with words; scold

lay it on (thick)

Informal
  1. to exaggerate
  2. to express praise effusively

lay off

  1. to put (a garment, etc.) aside
  2. ☆ to put (an employee) out of work, esp. temporarily
  3. to mark off the boundaries of
  4. ☆ Slang
    1. to cease
    2. to stop criticizing, teasing, etc.
    3. to stop for a rest
  5. Slang to transfer part of (a bet) to another bookmaker so as to minimize risk: said of a bookmaker

lay on

  1. to spread on
  2. to attack with force; strike repeatedly

lay oneself open

to expose oneself to attack, blame, etc.

lay open

  1. to open up; cut open
  2. to expose; uncover

lay out

  1. to spend
  2. to arrange according to a plan
  3. to spread out (clothes, equipment, etc.) ready for wear, inspection, etc.
  4. to make (a corpse) ready for burial and for viewing, as at a wake
  5. Slang to knock down or make unconscious
  6. Slang to scold or censure (someone)

lay over

☆ to stop a while in a place before going on

lay something on someone

Slang
  1. to tell something to someone
  2. to give something to someone

lay to

  1. to attribute to; credit to or blame on
  2. to apply oneself with vigor
  3. Naut.
    1. to check a ship's forward motion, esp. by bringing the bow into the wind
    2. to lie more or less stationary with the bow to the wind: now usually lie to

lay to rest

to bury; inter

lay up

  1. to store for future use; hoard
  2. to disable; confine to bed or the sickroom laid up with the flu
  3. to take (a ship) out of operation, as by putting into a dry dock for repairs
lay2 definition

lay (lā)

intransitive verb

lie
lay3 definition

lay (lā)

adjective

  1. of or consisting of the laity, or ordinary people, as distinguished from the clergy
  2. not belonging to or connected with a given profession; nonprofessional a legal handbook for lay readers

Etymology: ME lai < OFr < LL(Ec) laicus, lay, not priestly < Gr laikos < laos, the people

lay4 definition

lay (lā)

noun

  1. a short poem, esp. a narrative poem, orig. for singing as by a medieval minstrel
  2. Obsolete a song or melody

Etymology: ME lai < OFr < Bret *laid, song, akin to Ir laod

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms lay idiom

lay Synonyms

lay

n.

order, arrangement, situation; see position 1.


lay

v.

  1. To knock down

    trounce, defeat, club; see beat 2, hit 1.

  2. To place

    put, deposit, set; see place 1.

  3. To put in order

    arrange, organize, systematize; see order 3.

  4. To bring forth

    generate, deposit, yield; see produce 1.

  5. To smooth out

    steam, lay flat, iron out; see iron, press 2, smooth 1.

  6. To bet

    game, wager, lay odds; see bet, gamble 1.

  7. To work out

    devise, concoct, design; see plan 1, 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

lay Usage Examples

Object

  • foundation: We can help you lay the foundations for the next phase of your life.

Adjective complement

  • dormant: This may lay dormant, or start to be active straight away.

Followed by a transitive particle

  • aside: We must either lay self aside or God will lay us aside.

Particle object: down_obj

  • gauntlet: Time to lay down the gauntlet: unveil your Grail, ye Grail Questors.

Particle object: up_obj

  • treasure: Jesus said, " So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
lay usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

lay quotes

The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places.

-Butler, Samuel

He poured, to lord and lady gay, The unpremeditated lay.

-Scott, Sir Walter

lay quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"lay." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/lay>

APA Style

lay. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/lay

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