lay¹ /lā/

1. To cause to lie
2. To place or set down
3. To beat down
4. To spread on a surface
5. To spread or set something on
6. To cover
7. To apply
8. To cause to subside
9. To exorcize
10. To deposit
11. To set on the table
12. To make (a bet), wager
13. To put forward
14. To cause to be
15. To set
16. To produce and deposit
17. To station
18. To locate
19. To put in (a particular) position
20. To waylay
21. To impose
22. To attribute or impute
23. To set material in position for making
24. To form (a rope, etc) by setting in position and twisting
25. To design or plan
26. To layer (horticulture)
27. To cause (a hedge) to grow more thickly by cutting some of the growth halfway through and pressing it diagonally towards the ground
28. To have sexual intercourse with (slang)
29. To put below the horizon by sailing away
30. To give birth to a child (obsolete)
31. To beset (Shakespeare)

1. To produce eggs
2. To wager or bet
3. To deal blows
4. To lie (archaic, nautical and non-standard)

1. A situation, a place for lying
2. An oyster-bed
3. A way of lying
4. A disposition, arrangement or plan
5. A layer
6. A mode of twisting
7. Laying activity
8. An act of sexual intercourse (slang)
9. A partner, usu female, in sexual intercourse (slang)
10. A bet (Shakespeare)
11. A share of profit, esp in whaling
12. A field or method of operation, esp in thieving (slang)

layer /lāˈər or lār/ noun

1. A course, bed or stratum
2. Someone who or something which lays, eg a hen, a bricklayer, etc
3. A distinctively coloured space between contour lines on a map
4. A shoot bent down to earth in order to take root

To propagate by layers

1. To put in layers
2. To cut (hair) in layers

To be laid flat, lodge

layˈered adjective

In or with layers

layˈering noun

layˈing noun

1. The first coat of plaster
2. The act or time of laying eggs
3. The eggs laid

layˈabout noun

A lazy, idle person, a loafer

layˈaway noun

1. Goods on which a deposit has been paid, kept for a customer until payment is completed
2. This system of purchasing goods

layˈback noun

In rock climbing, a method of climbing a sharp-edged crack in a horizontal position (also intransitive verb)

layˈ-by noun (pl layˈ-bys)

1. A widened area of a roadway to allow vehicles to draw up out of the stream of traffic
2. (also layˈ-bye) a deposit against future purchase (S Afr)
3. (also layˈ-bye) a system of reserving the right to purchase goods by making a deposit (S Afr)

layˈ-down noun

1. In card games, esp bridge, a hand which cannot fail to take the number of tricks required to win, and which therefore is sometimes exposed to view without any play taking place
2. The contract made by the holder of such a hand

layer cake noun

A cake built up in layers

layˈ-off noun

1. A temporary suspension of work introduced by an employer as an economic measure
2. The act of laying off or period of time during which someone lays off or is laid off

layˈout noun

1. Something which is laid out
2. A display
3. An outfit
4. The disposition, arrangement, plan, esp of buildings or ground
5. The general appearance of a printed page, also called format
6. A set, unit or organization

layˈover noun (chiefly N American)

A break in a journey

layˈshaft noun

An auxiliary geared shaft in a machine, esp the secondary shaft in a car's gearbox

layˈstall noun (obsolete)

A place for depositing dung, rubbish, etc

layˈ-up noun

1. The time or condition of being laid up
2. (in basketball) a shot taken from near the basket, esp one-handed and bouncing off the backboard
3. (in golf) a shot deliberately played short of a hazard or green

lay aboard

To run alongside, esp in order to board

lay about one

To deal blows vigorously or on all sides

lay a course (nautical)

To succeed in sailing to the place required without tacking

lay aside or lay away

1. To discard
2. To put on one side for future use (see also layaway above)

lay at

To try to strike

lay away

1. To lay eggs in out-of-the-way places (Scot, etc)
2. To purchase goods by layaway (qv above)

lay bare

To show clearly, disclose

lay before

To submit (eg plans) to

lay by

1. To keep for future use
2. To dismiss
3. To put off

lay by the heels see under heel¹

lay down

1. To give up
2. To deposit, as a pledge
3. To apply (eg embroidery; archaic)
4. To formulate
5. To assert (a law or rule)
6. To store
7. To plant
8. To record
9. To lay on (printing)

lay hands on see under hand

lay heads together (archaic)

To confer together

lay hold of or on

To seize

lay in

To get in a supply of

lay into

To beat thoroughly

lay it on

1. To charge exorbitantly
2. To do anything, eg to exaggerate or flatter, excessively

lay off

1. To mark off
2. To dismiss temporarily from employment as an economic measure
3. To cease (informal)
4. To doff (archaic)
5. To harangue volubly
6. To hedge (gambling)
7. To pass (the ball) to a teammate who is in a better position (football)

lay of the land (chiefly N American) same as lie of the land (see under lie²)

lay on

1. To install a supply of
2. To provide
3. To deal blows with vigour
4. To arrange made-up pages in the correct order on the imposing surface (also lay down; printing)

lay oneself open to

To make oneself vulnerable to, or exposed to (criticism, etc)

lay oneself out to (archaic)

To make it one's professed object or practice, take great pains, to

lay on hands see under hand

lay on load (Spenser)

To belabour

lay on the table see under table

lay open

1. To make bare, to show or expose
2. To cut open

lay out

1. To display
2. To spend (money)
3. To plan
4. To arrange according to a plan
5. To prepare for burial
6. To knock unconscious
7. To take measures, seek

lay siege to

1. To besiege
2. To importune

lay the table

To put dishes, etc on the table in preparation for a meal

lay to

1. To apply with vigour
2. To bring a ship to rest

lay to heart see under heart

lay under

To subject to

lay up

1. To store up, preserve
2. (usu in passive) to confine to bed or one's room
3. To put in dock for cleaning, repairs, etc or because no longer wanted for or fit for service
4. To play a lay-up shot

lay upon

To wager upon

lay wait

To lie in wait, or in ambush

lay waste

To devastate

on a lay

On shares instead of wages

lay² /lā/ pat of lie²

lay³ /lā/

1. Of or relating to people who are not members of the clergy
2. Non-professional
3. Not trumps (cards)

1. The laity
2. A layman (obsolete)

laic /lāˈik/ adjective

Lay

A layman

lāˈical adjective

lāicˈity noun

1. The state of being lay
2. The nature of the laity
3. The influence of the laity

lāicizāˈtion or lāicisāˈtion noun

laicize or laicise /lāˈi-sīz/ transitive verb

1. To make laical
2. To open to the laity

lāˈity noun

1. The people as distinguished from some particular profession, usu the clerical
2. (usu with cap) specif one of the three divisions within the General Synod of the Church of England, the others being the Bishops and the Clergy

lay baptism noun

Baptism administered by a layman

lay brother or lay sister noun

A person under vows of celibacy and obedience, who serves a religious house, but is exempt from the studies and choir duties of monks or nuns

lay clerk noun

A singer in the choir of an Anglican cathedral, etc

lay communion noun

The state of being in the communion of the church as a layman

layˈman noun

1. One of the laity
2. A non-professional person
3. Someone who is not an expert

layˈperson noun

lay reader noun

(in some branches of the Anglican communion) a man or woman who is not ordained but is licensed by a bishop to undertake a range of ecclesiastical duties

lay sister see lay brother above.

lay vicar noun

A layman who is vicar-choral in an Anglican cathedral

layˈwoman noun

lay⁴ /lā/

1. A short narrative poem
2. A lyric
3. A song

lay⁵ /lā/ (archaic)

1. Law
2. Religious faith

lay⁶ /lā/

lea² /lē/, also lay /lā/ or ley /lē or lā/

1. Fallow
2. (of) arable land under grass or pasture

leaˈ-rig noun

An unploughed rig or grass field

leyˈ-farmˈing noun

Pasturing and cropping in alternating periods

lea³ /lē/, lay or ley /lā/

A measure of yarn, 80 yards of worsted, 120 of cotton, 300 of linen

lie¹ /lī/

1. A false statement made with the intention of deceiving
2. Anything misleading or of the nature of imposture
3. (with the) an accusation of lying

1. To make a false statement with the intention to deceive
2. To give a false impression

—Also (Scot) lee /lē/, often referring to an unintentional false statement

līˈar noun

A person who lies, esp habitually

lyˈing adjective

Addicted to telling lies

The habit of telling lies

lyˈingly adverb

lie detector noun

An instrument claimed to detect lying by recording abnormal involuntary bodily reactions in a person not telling the truth

give someone the lie (archaic, in his or her throat)

To accuse someone directly of lying

give the lie to

1. To accuse of lying
2. To prove false

lie in one's throat or through one's teeth (usu facetious)

To lie shamelessly

white lie

A minor falsehood, esp one uttered for reasons of tact, etc

lie² /lī/

1. To be in a horizontal or nearly horizontal position
2. To assume such a position
3. To lean
4. To press
5. To be situated
6. To have a position or extent
7. To remain
8. To be or remain passively
9. To abide
10. To be still
11. To be incumbent
12. To depend
13. To consist
14. To be sustainable (law)
15. To be imprisoned (Shakespeare)
16. To lodge, pass the night (archaic)

1. Mode or direction of lying
2. Slope and disposition
3. Relative position
4. General situation
5. A spell of lying
6. An animal's lair or resting place
7. A position from which a golf ball is to be played
8. A layer (archaic or dialect)
9. A railway siding

līˈer noun

lieˈ-abedˈ noun

Someone who lies late in bed (also adjective)

lie-down see lie down below.

lieˈ-inˈ noun

A longer than usual stay in bed in the morning

lyˈing-inˈ noun (pl lyˈings-inˈ)

Confinement during childbirth

lying-in hospital or lying-in ward noun (old)

A maternity hospital or ward

lie along (archaic)

To be extended at full length

lie at someone's door

(of something untoward) to be directly attributable to someone

lie at someone's heart (archaic)

To be an object of interest or affection to someone

lie back

1. To lean back on a support
2. To rest after a period of hard work

lie by

1. To be inactive
2. To keep out of the way
3. To lie to (nautical)

lie by the heels (archaic)

To be in prison

lie down

To place oneself in a horizontal position, esp in order to sleep or rest (lieˈ-downˈ noun)

lie hard or heavy on, upon or to

To oppress, burden

lie in

1. To stay in bed later than usual
2. To be in the state of giving birth to a child (old)

lie in one

To be in one's power

lie in the way

1. To be ready, at hand
2. To be an obstacle

lie in wait

To lie in ambush (often with for)

lie low

1. To keep quiet or hidden
2. To conceal one's actions or intentions

lie of the land (figurative)

The current situation

lie on or upon

To be incumbent on

lie on one's hands

To remain unwanted, unclaimed or unused

lie on one's oars see under oar

lie out of

To remain without the good of, without payment of

lie over

To be deferred to a future occasion

lie to (nautical)

To be or become nearly stationary with head to the wind

lie under

To be subject to or oppressed by

lie up

1. To abstain from work
2. To take to or remain in bed
3. (of a ship) to go into or be in dock

lie with

1. To rest with as a choice, duty, etc
2. To have sexual intercourse with (Bible or archaic)
3. To lodge or sleep with (archaic)

take it lying down (informal)

To endure without resistance or protest

• probated
• probate duty
• probates
• probating
• probation
• probational
• probationaries
• probationary
• probationer
• probationers
• probationership
• probation officer
• probation officers
• probations
• probative
• probatory
• probe
• probeable
• probed
• probenecid
• probenecids
• prober
• probers
• probes
• probe scissors