DictionaryAI

lay

LAY/leɪ/

Formslays, laying, laid

Often confused with lie

41 meanings of lay

Practice

  1. 1
    set on surfaceverbtransitive
    To put something down, especially carefully, so that it rests on a surface or lies flat, or to place it over or onto something else.

    Lay the documents on the table before the meeting starts.

    She laid the tired child gently on the bed.

    Similarput, place, set, rest

    Oppositelift, raise

    Note

    The root sense, and the key to a famous confusion. Old English leċġan was formed as the causative of the verb behind lie, so to lay is to make something lie. That is why it takes an object, as in a book on the table or a body in the grave. The New-England Primer's "Now I lay me down to sleep" keeps the old reflexive, where the sleeper both lays and is laid.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Old English leċġan derives from the causative of the ancestral verb behind lie, giving the underlying meaning 'make something lie'. en.wiktionary.org
    • The New-England Primer contains the quoted line 'Now I lay me down to sleep'. ccad.libguides.com
    • The prayer preserves an older reflexive construction using me, with the sleeper as both subject and object. dmr.bsu.edu
  2. 2
    establishverbtransitive
    To prepare a plan or project, or to set out and establish a law or principle.

    The committee will lay the groundwork for reform this session.

    The treaty laid the foundations for a lasting peace between the two countries.

    UsageCommon with plans, groundwork and foundations: lay the groundwork for reform.

    Similarestablish, prepare, set

  3. 3
    verb
    Past tense of lie.

    The valley lay silent beneath the morning fog.

    She lay awake long after midnight.

    UsageIts participle is lain (has lain); laid belongs to the verb meaning put.

    Note

    The past tense of lie, not a form of the verb that means "put down": the baby lay in its crib, and tunnels lay idle. Because the present of one verb is the past of the other, writers slip, as with the disputed "lay" for "lie".

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The overlap between present-tense lay and past-tense lie causes confusion. webapps.towson.edu
  4. 4
    produce eggsverbtransitive
    Of a hen or other animal, to bring forth an egg or eggs and deposit them.

    Most hens lay an egg nearly every day during the summer.

    The salmon laid thousands of eggs in the gravel bed.

    UsageLay eggs, past laid: the hen laid an egg.

    Similarproduce, deposit

  5. 5
    lie downverbnonstandardintransitive
    To recline or rest flat on something; to lie.

    After lunch he likes to lay on the couch and nap.

    Just lay still until the dizziness passes.

    UsageIn careful writing, use lie for resting: lie down, lying on the couch.

    Similarlie, recline, rest, lounge

    Note

    The most argued-over use of the word is lay standing in for lie, as in "I found him laying on the floor." The slip is natural, because lay is also the past tense of lie. Songs from Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" (1969) to John Denver's "Annie's Song" (1974) made it sound familiar.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  6. 6
    verbtransitive
    To put building materials such as bricks, pipes, cables, flooring or paving in position, or to build something in this way.

    The crew will lay the foundation before winter arrives.

    Builders laid the pipes beneath the road last month.

    Similarinstall, set, place, put

  7. 7
    verbtransitive
    To present or offer something for consideration.

    The lawyers will lay their argument before the judge tomorrow.

    He laid his proposal before the board for approval.

    UsageLay something before someone: laid his proposal before the board.

    Similarpresent, put, place, submit

    Oppositewithdraw

  8. 8
    verbtransitive
    To make something ready by arranging its parts, as when setting a table for a meal, building a fire to be lit, or setting a trap.

    Hunters lay traps along the riverbank where the animals come to drink.

    The caretaker had laid a fire in every hearth before the family returned.

    UsageSet phrases: lay the table, lay a fire, lay a trap.

    Similarset, prepare

  9. 9
    not clergyadjective
    Belonging to a church or other religious community but not ordained as one of its clergy or monastics.

    The diocese trained several lay ministers to assist the priest.

    A lay brother managed the monastery's accounts for decades.

    UsageBefore a noun: a lay preacher, lay members.

    Oppositeclerical, ordained

    Note

    A separate word from the verb, despite the spelling. It comes through Old French lai from Latin lāicus and Greek laïkós, and laic is its learned twin. It sorts people inside a church by ordination, not by belief, as in a lay preacher or a lay brother.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The adjective has a different origin from the verb: the verb descends from Old English, whereas the adjective comes through French from Latin and Greek. en.wiktionary.org
    • The adjective comes through Old French lai from Latin lāicus and Ancient Greek laïkós. en.wiktionary.org
    • Laic is an etymological doublet of lay, borrowed through French laïque. en.wiktionary.org
  10. 10
    blameverbtransitive
    To attribute fault or responsibility to someone; to charge or allege.

    Critics laid the failure squarely on the manager.

    They lay the blame for the loss on poor planning.

    UsageMost often lay the blame on someone or something.

    Similarattribute, ascribe

  11. 11
    have sexverbslangtransitive
    To have sexual intercourse with someone.

    He was determined to lay her before the weekend was over.

    Word got around that he had laid several coworkers.

    UsageMost common as get laid. Sleep with is the politer choice.

    Similarbed, mount, seduce, have, take

    Note

    In active use the partner is the object, as in Raymond Chandler's The Lady in the Lake (1943).

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

lay is a form of lie

lie, verb: To intentionally give false information in order to deceive someone. Full entry

Forms
lielies he/she/itlying -ing formlay past tenselain past participle
Spelling
lie → lay: irregular (no -ed)

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of lay apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–8, 10–11, 13–16, 18–20

Old English leċġan ("to lay") was passed down into Middle English as leyen or leggen. Through Proto-Germanic *lagjaną it goes back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to lie, recline". It is the causative of the verb for "to lie down", and Dutch leggen and German legen are related.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

  • Old English leċġan meant “to lay” and was inherited into Middle English as leyen or leggen. en.wiktionary.org
  • The word descends from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną. en.wiktionary.org
  • Its ultimate Proto-Indo-European root meant “to lie, recline”. en.wiktionary.org
  • It originated as the causative of the verb meaning “to lie down”. en.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch leggen and German legen are cognates of English lay. en.wikisource.org
Meanings 9, 12

Laic is a doublet. Both words trace to Ancient Greek λαϊκός (laïkós), which became Latin lāicus. Old French made it lai, Middle English borrowed it as lay, and modern English inherited that form.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • Laic and lay are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
  • Both words ultimately derive from Ancient Greek λαϊκός (laïkós), borrowed into Latin as lāicus. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin lāicus became Old French lai, which entered Middle English as lay and was inherited by modern English. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 3

From Old English læġ, the past tense of licgan (to lie), so it belongs to the verb lie rather than to lay meaning put down.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Meaning 17

English inherited lay from Middle English lay, borrowed from Old French lai, meaning "song, lyric, poem". The French word probably came from Frankish *laih ("play, melody, song"), whose ancestry runs through Proto-Germanic *laikaz to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to jump, play".

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • English inherited this sense of lay from Middle English lay, borrowed from Old French lai, meaning song, lyric or poem. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old French lai probably came from reconstructed Frankish *laih, meaning play, melody or song. en.wiktionary.org
  • The proposed Frankish ancestor descends from Proto-Germanic *laikaz. en.wiktionary.org
  • The proposed ancestry ultimately reaches a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to jump or play. en.wiktionary.org