lie¹ Definition
lie (lī)
intransitive verb lay, lain, ly′·ing
- to be or put oneself in a reclining position along a relatively horizontal surface: often with down
- to be in a more or less horizontal position on some supporting surface: said of inanimate things
- to be or remain in a specified condition motives that lie hidden
- to be situated Canada lies to the north
- to extend; stretch the road that lies before us
- to be; exist; be found the love that lies in her eyes
- to be buried or entombed
- Archaic to stay overnight or for a short while; lodge
- Archaic to have sexual intercourse (with)
- 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
- the way in which something is situated or arranged; lay
- an animal's lair or resting place
- Brit. a period of resting
- 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
- to make a statement that one knows is false, esp. with intent to deceive
- to make such statements habitually
- 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
- a false statement or action, esp. one made with intent to deceive
- anything that gives or is meant to give a false impression
- the charge of lying
lie² Idioms
give the lie to
- to charge with telling a lie
- to prove to be false; belie
lie in one's throat
to tell a foul or outrageous lie
Lie Definition
Lie (lē)
Lie, Jonas 1880-1940; U.S. painter, born in Norway
Lie, Jonas (Lauritz Edemil) 1833-1908; Norw. novelist: uncle of the painter
- lē
Lie, Trygve (Halvdan) (trig′və) 1896-1968; Norw. statesman: 1st secretary-general of the United Nations (1946-53)
lie Synonyms
lie
n.
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. * Anything calculated to mislead another
give the lie to
lie Synonyms
lie
v.
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*. 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.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.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.
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
lie Law Definition
v
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.
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