lie Hear it!

lie¹ Definition

lie (lī)

intransitive verb lay, lain, ly′·ing

  1. to be or put oneself in a reclining position along a relatively horizontal surface: often with down
  2. to be in a more or less horizontal position on some supporting surface: said of inanimate things
  3. to be or remain in a specified condition motives that lie hidden
  4. to be situated Canada lies to the north
  5. to extend; stretch the road that lies before us
  6. to be; exist; be found the love that lies in her eyes
  7. to be buried or entombed
  8. Archaic to stay overnight or for a short while; lodge
  9. Archaic to have sexual intercourse (with)
  10. Law to be maintainable or admissible an action that will not lie

Etymology: ME lien < 2d & 3d pers. sing. of earlier liggen < OE licgan, to lie, akin to Ger liegen < IE base *legh-, to lie, lay oneself down > L lectus & Gr lēchos, bed, lōchos, lair

transitive verb

Golf to have, on the hole being played, a score of after her approach shot, she lies three on the ninth hole

noun

  1. the way in which something is situated or arranged; lay
  2. an animal's lair or resting place
  3. Brit. a period of resting
  4. Golf the relative situation of a ball with reference to the advantage it offers the player a good lie

lie¹ Idioms

lie down on the job

☆

Informal to put forth less than one's best efforts

lie in

to be in confinement for childbirth

lie off

Naut. to stay at a distance from shore or another ship

lie over

☆

to stay and wait until some future time

lie to

Naut. to lie more or less stationary with the bow to the wind

take lying down

to submit to (punishment, a wrong, etc.) without protest

lie² Definition

lie (lī)

intransitive verb lied, ly′·ing

    1. to make a statement that one knows is false, esp. with intent to deceive
    2. to make such statements habitually
  2. to give a false impression; deceive one statistics can lie

Etymology: ME lien < OE leogan, akin to Ger lügen (Goth liugan) < IE base *leugh-, to tell lies > Lith lūgoti, to ask

transitive verb

to bring, put, accomplish, etc. by lying to lie oneself into office

noun

  1. a false statement or action, esp. one made with intent to deceive
  2. anything that gives or is meant to give a false impression
  3. the charge of lying

lie² Idioms

give the lie to

  1. to charge with telling a lie
  2. to prove to be false; belie

lie in one's throat

to tell a foul or outrageous lie

Lie Definition

Lie (lē)

  1. Lie, Jonas 1880-1940; U.S. painter, born in Norway

  2. Lie, Jonas (Lauritz Edemil) 1833-1908; Norw. novelist: uncle of the painter

  3. lē

    Lie, Trygve (Halvdan) (trig′və) 1896-1968; Norw. statesman: 1st secretary-general of the United Nations (1946-53)

lie Synonyms

lie

n.

  1. An intentional misstatement

    falsehood, untruth, fib, fiction, hyperbole, fraudulence, inaccuracy, misstatement, myth, fable, deceptiveness, disinformation, barefaced lie, dirty lie, misrepresentation, inoperative statement, lying, untruthfulness, prevarication, mendacity, falsification, falseness, falsifying, subterfuge, defamation, detraction, tale, story, tall story, cock-and-bull story, calumny, fabrication, deception, slander, backbiting, calumniation, aspersion, revilement, untruism, vilification, reviling, false swearing, perjury, libel, forgery, distortion, obloquy, garbled version, guile, white lie, corker*, fish story*, lollapalooza*, whopper*, cock and bull*, crock*, moonshine*, hogwash*; see also dishonesty.

    Antonyms truth*, veracity*, truthfulness. *

  2. Anything calculated to mislead another

    falsification, evasion, deceit; see deception 1, trick 1.

give the lie to

dispute, belie, prove false; see disprove.

lie Synonyms

lie

v.

  1. To utter an untruth

    falsify, prevaricate, fib, tell a lie, equivocate, fabricate, deceive, mislead, misinform, misrepresent, exaggerate, distort, misstate, misspeak, concoct, tell a falsehood, be untruthful, forswear, be a liar, dupe, pervert, slant, twist, overstate, embellish, embroider, overdraw, bear false witness, say one thing and mean another, dissimulate, dissemble, perjure oneself, delude, malign, invent, manufacture, make up, trump up, palter, beguile, tell a white lie, stretch the truth, spin a long yarn*, bull*, make out of whole cloth*.

  2. To be situated

    extend, be on, be beside, be located, be fixed, be established, be placed, be seated, be set, be level, be smooth, be even, be plane, exist in space, prevail, endure, stretch along, reach along, spread along; see also occupy 2.

  3. To be prostrate

    be recumbent, be helpless, be supine, be exhausted, be flat, be prone, sprawl, loll, laze, be stretched out, be powerless, be thrown down; see also sense 4, rest 2.

    Antonyms stand*, be upright, sit. *

  4. To assume a prostrate position

    lie down, recline, repose, stretch out, couch, go to bed, turn in, retire, take a nap, take a siesta, hit the hay*; see also rest 1, sleep.

    Antonyms rise*, get up*, arise.

lie is the simple direct word meaning to make a deliberately false statement; prevaricate strictly means to quibble or confuse the issue in order to evade the truth, but it is loosely used as a formal or affected substitute for lie; equivocate implies the deliberate use of ambiguity in order to deceive or mislead; fabricate suggests the invention of a false story, excuse, etc. intended to deceive but may be somewhat softer in connotation than lie; fib implies the telling of a falsehood about something unimportant and is sometimes a euphemism for lie

take lying down

submit, surrender, be passive; see yield 1.

lie Law Definition

v

Available, to exist. Example: No cause of action will lie for trespass if the landowner gave his permission to enter onto the land.

lie Usage Examples

Object

  • preacher: One of the miners, being a lay preacher, said a quiet prayer for the dying creature.
  • mile: Kufah lies 10 miles northeast of Najaf, a major Shiite religious center.

Converse of object

tell: Should they tell a lie or act a lie?

Preposition: at

heart: Dillon seeks refuge from his hostile classmates in the wood that seems to lie at the very heart of the mystery.

Adjective modifier

  • blatant: This is a blatant lie and misleading as European Regulation once agreed by the Commission MUST be implemented into National compliance.
  • barefaced: Both were barefaced lies whose falsity was always pretty obvious, but was also rapidly exposed by the failure to find WMDs.

Preposition: on

  • couch: During the scan, you will be asked to lie very still on a couch inside a metal cylinder.
  • sofa: I would do this when playing with them or when they were lying on the sofa.
  • seabed: The accommodation and bridge block have become detached from the hull and now lie separately on the seabed several yards away from the hull.

Adjective complement

  • dormant: Through out borders where herbaceous perennials are lying dormant, swathes of snowdrops can fill the gaps.
  • motionless: Matty D lay motionless, and with him out of the picture it looked like a new champion would be crowned after all.
  • idle: The vast majority are lying idle around people's homes and offices.
  • adjacent: No significant nucleated settlement has survived at either of the early manorial centers, both of which lie adjacent to their respective parish churches.
  • prostrate: Men, women children, all lay prostrate like ears of corn under a tempest.
  • flat: If you have a newborn you want to be sure the seat fully reclines so your newborn can lie flat.

Preposition: in

  • bed: Adam just lay in bed, flat on his back, never moving, with a tube down his throat.
  • ruin: Cities lay in ruins and the country was in no condition to begin rebuilding.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • around: I'm sure there are some lying around in my Photo Gallery.
  • down: Do not let him lie down or tilt his head backward.

Modifies a noun

detector: He has given us his Word to use as a lie detector.