lay 1 (l )v. laid (ld), lay·ing, lays v.tr.1. To cause to lie down: lay a child in its crib. 2. a. To place in or bring to a particular position: lay the cloth over the painting. b. To bury. 3. To cause to be in a particular condition: The remark laid him open to criticism. 4. To put or set down: lay new railroad track. 5. To produce and deposit: lay eggs. 6. To cause to subside; calm or allay: "chas'd the clouds ... and laid the winds" John Milton. 7. To put up to or against: lay an ear to the door. 8. To put forward as a reproach or an accusation: They laid the blame on us. 9. To put or set in order or readiness for use: lay the table for lunch. 10. To devise; contrive: lay plans. 11. To spread over a surface: lay paint on a canvas. 12. To place or give (importance): lay stress on clarity of expression. 13. To impose as a burden or punishment: lay a penalty upon the offender. 14. To present for examination: lay a case before a committee. 15. To put forward as a demand or an assertion: laid claim to the estate. 16. Games To place (a bet); wager. 17. To aim (a gun or cannon). 18. a. To place together (strands) to be twisted into rope. b. To make in this manner: lay up cable. 19. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with. v.intr.1. To produce and deposit eggs. 2. To bet; wager. 3. Nonstandard To lie. 4. To engage energetically in an action. 5. Nautical To put oneself into the position indicated. n.1. a. The direction the strands of a rope or cable are twisted in: a left lay. b. The amount of such twist. 2. The state of one that lays eggs: a hen coming into lay. 3. Vulgar Slang a. Sexual intercourse. b. A partner in sexual intercourse. Phrasal Verbs: lay about To strike blows on all sides. lay aside1. To give up; abandon: lay aside all hope of rescue. 2. To save for the future. lay away1. To reserve for the future; save. 2. To put aside and hold for future delivery. lay by1. To save for future use. 2. Nautical To remain stationary while heading into the wind. lay down1. To give up and surrender: laid down their arms. 2. To specify: laid down the rules. 3. To store for the future. 4. Nonstandard To lie down. lay for Informal To be waiting to attack: Muggers lay for the unsuspecting pedestrian in the dark alley. lay in To store for future use: lay in supplies for an Arctic winter. lay into Slang 1. To scold sharply. 2. To attack physically; beat up. lay off1. To terminate the employment of (a worker), especially temporarily. 2. To mark off: lay off an area for a garden. 3. Slang To stop doing something; quit. 4. Games To place all or a part of (an accepted bet) with another bookie in order to reduce the risk. lay on1. To apply (something) by or as if by spreading onto a flat surface: laid on a thick Southern accent. 2. To prepare, usually in an elaborate fashion; arrange: laid on cocktails for 50 at the last minute. 3. Slang To present or reveal to; confront with: "went around talking to people about anything until he could lay his standard question on them" John Vinocur. lay out1. To make a detailed plan for. 2. To clothe and prepare (a corpse) for burial. 3. To rebuke harshly: She laid me out for breaking the vase. 4. To knock to the ground or unconscious. 5. To expend; spend: lay out a fortune on jewelry. 6. To display: lay out merchandise; lay the merchandise out. lay over To make a stopover in the course of a journey. lay to Nautical 1. To bring (a ship) to a stop in open water. 2. To remain stationary while heading into the wind. lay up1. To stock for future use: lay up supplies for a long journey. 2. Informal To confine with an illness or injury: was laid up for a month. 3. Nautical To put (a ship) in dock, as for repairs. 4. Sports To hit a golf shot less far than one is able so as to avoid a hazard. Idioms: lay down the law To assert positively and often arrogantly. lay it on thick Informal 1. To exaggerate; overstate. 2. To flatter effusively. lay of the land The nature, arrangement, or disposition of something. lay rubber Slang To accelerate a motor vehicle suddenly from a halt to a high speed, thereby spinning the wheels and depositing on the road a thin film of burned rubber from the rear tire or tires. lay waste To ravage: Rebel troops laid waste the town.
[Middle English leien, from Old English lecgan; see legh- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: Lay ("to put, place, or prepare") and lie ("to recline or be situated") have been confused for centuries; evidence exists that lay has been used to mean "lie" since the 1300s. Why? First, there are two lays. One is the base form of the verb lay, and the other is the past tense of lie. Second, lay was once used with a reflexive pronoun to mean "lie" and survives in the familiar line from the child's prayer Now I lay me down to sleep; lay me down is easily shortened to lay down. Third, lay down, as in She lay down on the sofa sounds the same as laid down, as in I laid down the law to the kids.·Lay and lie are most easily distinguished by usage. Lay is a transitive verb and takes a direct object. Lay and its principal parts (laid, laying) are correctly used in the following examples: He laid (not lay) the newspaper on the table. The table was laid for four. Lie is an intransitive verb and cannot take an object. Lie and its principal parts (lay, lain, lying) are correctly used in the following examples: She often lies (not lays) down after lunch. When I lay (not laid) down, I fell asleep. The rubbish had lain (not laid) there a week. I was lying (not laying) in bed when he called.·There are a few exceptions to these rules. The phrasal verb lay for and the nautical use of lay, as in lay at anchor, though intransitive, are standard. |
lay 2 (l)adj.1. Of, relating to, or involving the laity: a lay preacher. 2. Not of or belonging to a particular profession; nonprofessional: a lay opinion as to the seriousness of the disease.
[Middle English, from Old French lai, from Late Latin licus, from Greek likos, of the people, from los, the people.] |
lay 3 (l)n.1. A narrative poem, such as one sung by medieval minstrels; a ballad. 2. A song; a tune.
[Middle English, from Old French lai.] |
| lay 4 (l) |
lay 1 Verb [lays, laying, laid] 1. to put in a low or horizontal position; cause to lie: Mary laid a clean square of white towelling carefully on the grass 2. to establish as a basis: ready to lay your new fashion foundations? 3. to place or be in a particular state or position: underneath lay a key 4. to regard as the responsibility of: ridiculous attempts to lay the loss at the door of the Admiralty 5. to put forward: ruses by which we lay claim on one another 6. to arrange or prepare: she would lay her plans 7. to place in position: he laid a wreath 8. (of birds, esp. the domestic hen) to produce (eggs) 9. to make (a bet) with (someone): I'll lay money he's already gone home 10. to arrange (a table) for a meal 11. to prepare (a fire) by arranging fuel in the grate 12. Taboo slang to have sexual intercourse with 13. lay bare to reveal or explain: a century of neurophysiology has now laid bare the structures of the brain 14. lay hold of to seize or grasp 15. lay oneself open to make oneself vulnerable (to criticism or attack) 16. lay open to reveal or disclose 17. lay waste to destroy completely Noun 1. the manner or position in which something lies or is placed 2. Taboo, slang a. an act of sexual intercourse b. a sexual partner See also lay aside, lay down, etc. [Old English lecgan] USAGE: In standard English, the verb lay can only be used with an object, and lie can only be used without one: the Queen laid a wreath; he was lying on the floor.
lay 2 Verb
lay 3 Adjective 1. of or involving people who are not members of the clergy 2. nonprofessional or nonspecialist [Greek laos people]
lay 4 Noun a short narrative poem intended to be sung [Old French lai]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  lay - a narrative song with a recurrent refrainsong, vocal - a short musical composition with words; "a successful musical must have at least three good songs" | | 2. | lay - a narrative poem of popular originpoem, verse form - a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines Edda - either of two distinct works in Old Icelandic dating from the late 13th century and consisting of 34 mythological and heroic ballads composed between 800 and 1200; the primary source for Scandinavian mythology | | Verb | 1. | lay - put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point"docket - place on the docket for legal action; "Only 5 of the 120 cases docketed were tried" cock - set the trigger of a firearm back for firing postpose - place after another constituent in the sentence; "Japanese postposes the adpositions, whereas English preposes them" prepose - place before another constituent in the sentence; "English preposes the adpositions; Japanese postposes them" step - place (a ship's mast) in its step put back, replace - put something back where it belongs; "replace the book on the shelf after you have finished reading it"; "please put the clean dishes back in the cabinet when you have washed them" stratify - form, arrange, or deposit in layers; "The fish are stratified in barrels"; "The rock was stratified by the force of the water"; "A statistician stratifies the list of names according to the addresses" plant - place something or someone in a certain position in order to secretly observe or deceive; "Plant a spy in Moscow"; "plant bugs in the dissident's apartment" intersperse - place at intervals in or among; "intersperse exclamation marks in the text" snuggle, nestle - position comfortably; "The baby nestled her head in her mother's elbow" pile - place or lay as if in a pile; "The teacher piled work on the students until the parents protested" arrange, set up - put into a proper or systematic order; "arrange the books on the shelves in chronological order" superpose - place (one geometric figure) upon another so that their perimeters coincide park - place temporarily; "park the car in the yard"; "park the children with the in-laws"; "park your bag in this locker" dispose - place or put in a particular order; "the dots are unevenly disposed" emplace - put into place or position; "the box with the ancestors' ashes was emplaced on the top shelf of the house altar" emplace - provide a new emplacement for guns ship - place on board a ship; "ship the cargo in the hold of the vessel" underlay - put (something) under or beneath; "They underlaid the shingles with roofing paper" trench - set, plant, or bury in a trench; "trench the fallen soldiers"; "trench the vegetables" shelve - place on a shelf; "shelve books" jar - place in a cylindrical vessel; "jar the jam" repose - to put something (eg trust) in something; "The nation reposed its confidence in the King" sign - place signs, as along a road; "sign an intersection"; "This road has been signed" butt - place end to end without overlapping; "The frames must be butted at the joints" recess - put into a recess; "recess lights" throw, thrust - place or put with great energy; "She threw the blanket around the child"; "thrust the money in the hands of the beggar" tee, tee up - place on a tee; "tee golf balls" rack up - place in a rack; "rack pool balls" coffin - place into a coffin; "her body was coffined" bed - put to bed; "The children were bedded at ten o'clock" appose - place side by side or in close proximity sow, seed - place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth; "She sowed sunflower seeds" misplace - place or position wrongly; put in the wrong position; "misplaced modifiers" juxtapose - place side by side; "The fauvists juxtaposed strong colors" set down - put or settle into a position; "The hotel was set down at the bottom of the valley" bottle - put into bottles; "bottle the mineral water" | | 2. | lay - put in a horizontal position; "lay the books on the table"; "lay the patient carefully onto the bed"lay, place, put, set, position, pose - put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point" rail - lay with rails; "hundreds of miles were railed out here" lay - lay eggs; "This hen doesn't lay" blow - lay eggs; "certain insects are said to blow" entomb, inhume, inter, lay to rest, bury - place in a grave or tomb; "Stalin was buried behind the Kremlin wall on Red Square"; "The pharaohs were entombed in the pyramids"; "My grandfather was laid to rest last Sunday" rebury - bury again; "After the king's body had been exhumed and tested to traces of poison, it was reburied in the same spot" | | 3. | lay - prepare or position for action or operation; "lay a fire"; "lay the foundation for a new health care plan" | | 4. | lay - lay eggs; "This hen doesn't lay"spawn - lay spawn; "The salmon swims upstream to spawn" lay, put down, repose - put in a horizontal position; "lay the books on the table"; "lay the patient carefully onto the bed" | | 5. | lay - impose as a duty, burden, or punishment; "lay a responsibility on someone" | | Adj. | 1. | lay - characteristic of those who are not members of the clergy; "set his collar in laic rather than clerical position"; "the lay ministry"profane, secular - not concerned with or devoted to religion; "sacred and profane music"; "secular drama"; "secular architecture", "children being brought up in an entirely profane environment" | | 2. | lay - not of or from a profession; "a lay opinion as to the cause of the disease"nonprofessional - not professional; not engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or for gain; "the nonprofessional wives of his male colleagues"; "nonprofessional actors" |
lay 1 verb 1. place, put, set, spread, plant, establish, settle, leave, deposit, put down, set down, posit verb 4. arrange, prepare, make, organize, position, locate, set out, devise, put together, dispose, draw up lay into someone ( Informal) attack, hit, set about, hit out at, assail, tear into, pitch into ( informal) go for the jugular, lambast(e), belabour, lash into, let fly at lay someone off dismiss, fire ( informal) release, drop, sack ( informal) pay off, discharge, oust, let go, make redundant, give notice to, give the boot to ( slang) give the sack to ( informal) give someone their cards, kennet Austral. ( slang) jeff Austral. ( slang) lay something aside abandon, reject, dismiss, postpone, shelve, put off, renounce, put aside, cast aside lay something bare reveal, show, expose, disclose, unveil, divulge lay something down lay something out 2. ( Informal) spend, pay, invest, fork out ( slang) expend, shell out ( informal) disburse USAGE In standard English, the verb to lay (meaning `to put something somewhere') always needs an object, for example the Queen laid a wreath. By contrast, the verb to lie is always used without an object, for example he was just lying there.
lay 2
1. Direct or adjust the aim of a weapon. 2. Setting of a weapon for a given range, a given direction, or both. 3. To drop one or more aerial bombs or aerial mines onto the surface from an aircraft. 4. To spread a smoke screen on the ground from an aircraft. 5. To calculate or project a course. 6. To lay on: a. to execute a bomber strike; b. to set up a mission.
 Translations lay [leɪ] pt of lieto lay the facts/one's proposals before sb → presentar los hechos/sus propuestas a algnlay in vt → abastecerse de
 lay [leɪ] pt of lieto lay the facts/one's proposals before sb → présenter les faits/ses propositions à qn; to lay down the law ( fig) → faire la loilay into vi ( inf) (= attack); tomber sur: (= scold); passer une engueulade à
 lay [leɪ] [ laid , pt, pp ] pt of lieadj (Rel) (preacher etc) → Laien- the lay person (= not expert) → der Laie; to get laid ( inf!) → bumsen (!)to lay down the law lay → Vorschriften machen; lay into lay vt fus → losgehen auf +acc (= criticize); herunterputzen
 lay [leɪ] pt of lieto lay the facts/one's proposals before sb → presentare i fatti/delle proposte a qn; lay aside to lay down the law ( fig) → dettar leggelay into vt fus ( col) (= attack, scold); aggredire
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