lay

LAY/leɪ/

Formslays, laying, laid

Often confused with lie

41 meanings of lay

Practice

1
set on surfaceverbtransitive
To put something down carefully, often so it lies flat on something.
Like putting a book down flat on a table.
Please lay the baby in the crib.
She laid the blanket on the grass.
Similarput, place, set, rest
Oppositelift, raise
Note
2
establishverbtransitive
To get a plan or idea ready, or to set up a rule.
Like drawing a map before a long trip.
Every January, we sit down and lay plans for the year.
The two friends laid careful plans for their summer trip.
UsageSay lay plans for something.
Similarestablish, prepare, set
3
verb
Past tense of lie. Use this form when talking about resting flat in the past.
The cat lay in the sun for hours.
He lay down because he felt tired.
UsageSay she lay in bed; laid means put.
Note
4
produce eggsverbtransitive
To produce an egg and release it from the body.
Like a hen dropping an egg into its nest.
Hens lay eggs almost every day.
The turtle laid her eggs in the warm sand.
UsageSay hens lay eggs.
Similarproduce, deposit
5
lie downverbnonstandardintransitive
To rest flat on a surface, such as a bed or the ground.
Like a tired dog stretching out flat on a cool floor.
I need to lay down for a few minutes.
The kids like to lay on the floor and watch TV.
UsageIn careful writing, say lie down.
Similarlie, recline, rest, lounge
Note
6
verbtransitive
To put building materials like bricks, pipes or carpet in their place.
Like stacking flat blocks to build something.
Workers lay bricks to build the wall.
They laid new carpet in the hallway.
Similarinstall, set, place, put
7
verbtransitive
To put facts or ideas in front of someone to look at.
Like showing your drawing to the class.
Lay your idea before the group and see what they think.
She laid the evidence before the jury.
UsageSay lay an idea before a group.
Similarpresent, put, place, submit
Oppositewithdraw
8
verbtransitive
To get something ready to use, like a table for a meal, a fire, or a trap.
Can you help me lay the table before the guests arrive?
Grandpa laid a fire in the stove so we could light it in the morning.
UsageSay lay the table before a meal.
Similarset, prepare
9
not clergyadjective
Part of a church or other religion but not a priest, minister or ordained monk or nun.
Like a helper at a hospital who is not a doctor.
A lay preacher led the service that Sunday.
Lay members helped run the church fair.
UsageSay a lay preacher.
Oppositeclerical, ordained
Note
10
blameverbtransitive
To say that someone is responsible for something bad.
Please don't lay the blame on your brother.
She laid the blame for the delay on the bad weather.
UsageSay lay the blame on someone.
Similarattribute, ascribe
11
have sexverbslangtransitive
To have sex with someone.
He spent the whole party trying to lay someone.
She laid him within a week of meeting him.
UsagePeople say get laid.
Similarbed, mount, seduce, have, take
Note

Less common meanings

12
non-expertadjective
Not trained as an expert in a subject.
Like a fan who loves science but never studied it.
She explained how the engine works in lay terms.
Most lay readers found the report easy to follow.
UsageSay in lay terms for in simple words.
Similaramateur, nonprofessional, untrained, nonspecialist
Oppositeprofessional, expert, specialist
13
verbtransitive
To put a duty, tax, or punishment on someone.
Like putting a heavy bag on someone's shoulders.
The king will lay a new tax on salt.
They laid heavy fines on the company.
UsageSay lay a tax on something.
Similarimpose, levy, inflict, place
Oppositelift, remove, waive
14
sex partnernouncolloquialcountable or uncountable
Slang for a person seen only as a sex partner, or for an act of sex.
To her he was never more than a casual lay.
They were both just looking for an easy lay that night.
15
betverbtransitive
To bet money on something, or bet that something will happen.
I'll lay ten dollars that it rains tomorrow.
He laid his savings on the underdog and lost it all.
UsageSay lay money on a horse.
Similarbet, wager, stake, gamble
Note
16
nouncountable or uncountable
The way that something is arranged, positioned, or laid out.
Like looking around a new room to see where everything sits.
We checked the lay of the land before setting up camp.
From the hilltop we could see the lay of the town, with the river cutting it in two.
UsageSay the lay of the land.
Similarlie, arrangement, configuration
Note
17
balladnouncountable
A short poem or song, often one that tells a story, like those sung in the Middle Ages.
Like a song that tells a whole story from start to finish.
The minstrel sang a lay about a brave young knight.
The old singer knew many lays from his youth.
Similarballad, song, poem
Note
18
egg productionnouncountable or uncountable
The producing of eggs by birds and other animals.
The spring lay was strong across the whole flock this year.
Farmers track each hen's lay over the season.
Similaroutput, production, yield
Note
19
end a hauntingverbtransitive
To make a ghost stop haunting a place, or to finally get over a bad memory or past failure.
The family paid a priest to come and lay the ghost in their old farmhouse.
Winning the final this year finally laid the ghost of last year's loss.
UsageSay a win laid the ghost of a loss.
Similarexorcise
Note
20
put emphasisverbtransitive
To put something like importance or extra attention on one particular thing.
Our coach lays a lot of stress on good teamwork.
Teachers at this school lay great emphasis on reading every day.
UsageSay lay stress on something.
Similarplace, put
21
verb
In law, to say or claim something in a legal case.
22
noun
A part of a business's profits given as payment.
23
noun
The direction in which a rope's strands are twisted.
24
verb
To twist strands together to make a rope or cable.
25
verb
To aim a gun or cannon at a target.
26
verb
To move to or take up a position, as on a ship.
27
adjective
In card games, not part of the trump suit.
28
verb
To put on tefillin, the small boxes worn during Jewish prayer.
29
verbarchaic
To make something calm down or become less.
But how upon the winds being laid, doth the ship cease to move?
1662, Sir Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two World Systems
30
verb
In printing, to put pages in the right places before printing.
31
verb
In printing, to put new metal letters into the right boxes.
32
verb
To become calm or less strong.
33
nounarchaic
Somewhere you go a lot, or work you spend much time doing.
I shall be on that lay nae mair
1818, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord
34
nounobsolete
One level of something lying on another.
35
nounobsolete
The base that something is built on.
On this lay or ground we should also add the finishing colours.
1835, Richard architetto Brown, The Principles of Practical Perspective
36
nounobsolete
A way of doing things, often a trick to get money.
Because I've finished, missus. Finished with the thieving lay now and forever.
1975, H. R. F. Keating, A Remarkable Case of Burglary
37
noun
A body of water with land all around it.
38
adjectiveobsolete
Not educated, and not knowing much.
39
nounobsolete
A field of grass.
Having destroyed all old lays, I have no other hay than clover.
1808, John Curwen, Hints on the Economy of Feeding Stock and Bettering the Condition of the Poor
40
nounobsolete
A law or set of rules.
A woman worthy of immortall prayse, / Which for this Realme found many goodly layes
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene
41
nounobsolete
Something you must do, or a serious promise.
they bound themselues by a sacred lay and oth to fight it out to the last man
1601, Pliny the Elder, The Historie of the World

lay is a form of lie

lie, verb: To say something you know is not true so that others believe it. 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

From Old English leċġan, meaning "to lay." It is the causative form of the word meaning "to lie down."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Lay derives from Old English leċġan, meaning “to lay.” en.wiktionary.org
Leċġan is the causative counterpart of liċġan, “to lie down.” en.wiktionary.org
Old English liċġan means “to lie down.” en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 9, 12

It goes back to the Ancient Greek word "laïkós". That became "lāicus" in Latin and then "lai" in Old French.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Lay ultimately derives from Ancient Greek laïkós. en.wiktionary.org
Ancient Greek laïkós was borrowed into Latin as lāicus. en.wiktionary.org
Old French lai derives from Latin lāicus. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 3

From Old English læġ, an old past tense of the verb lie.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

This form of lay descends from Old English læġ. en.wiktionary.org
Old English læġ was a past-tense form of the verb meaning lie. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 17

From Old French lai, meaning "song, poem," which probably came from a Frankish word for "play, melody, song."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The song or poem sense of lay comes from Old French lai, meaning song or poem. en.wiktionary.org
Old French lai probably derives from a Frankish word meaning play, melody or song. en.wiktionary.org