layer

LAY-ur/ˈleɪ.ɚ/UKLAIR/lɛə/

Plurallayers

Verblayers, layering, layered

13 meanings of layer

Practice

1
nouncountable
A thin sheet of material that sits on or covers a surface.
Like a blanket of snow sitting on top of the ground.
A layer of snow covered the whole yard by morning.
She spread a thin layer of butter on the bread.
Similarcoat, coating, film, sheet, covering
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2
nouncountable
A flat band of material lying on top of other bands, like rock or soil.
Like one colored band in a stack of differently colored sand.
Diggers found a layer of dark clay under the topsoil.
Each layer of rock tells part of the planet's history.
Similarstratum, bed, seam, band
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3
nouncountable
One level in a system that has different ranks or stages.
Like steps on a ladder, each one above the last.
There is an extra layer of management between staff and the boss.
We added one more layer of checks to keep the data safe.
Similarlevel, tier
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4
nouncountable
A piece of clothing worn under or over another piece.
Like wearing one shirt on top of another.
Put on another layer before you go out in the cold.
He took off a layer when the room got warm.
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5
verbtransitive or intransitive
To put things on top of each other in separate flat levels.
Like building a sandwich one filling at a time.
Layer the potatoes and cheese in the dish before baking.
She likes to layer her blankets for extra warmth.
Similarstack
6
verbtransitive or intransitive
To cut something into separate flat pieces.
Like slicing a loaf of bread into flat pieces.
Layer the cake so you can add cream between the parts.
He will layer the meat into thin slices for the dish.
Similarsplit, slice
Note
7
nouncountable
One of several see-through sheets in an image app that lets you change parts of a picture on their own.
Like sheets of clear plastic stacked to make one drawing.
Draw the background on one layer and the text on another.
Hide the top layer to see what is underneath.
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8
USLAY-ur/ˈleɪ.ɚ/UKLAY-uh/ˈleɪ.ə/
nouncountable
A hen that is kept to lay eggs.
Like a cow kept just for its milk.
The farmer keeps fifty layers for fresh eggs each day.
A good layer can produce an egg almost every day.
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9
USLAY-ur/ˈleɪ.ɚ/UKLAY-uh/ˈleɪ.ə/
nouncountable
A grown female animal that is able to lay eggs.
Like a queen ant that lays all the eggs for the whole nest.
In the colony, just one layer produces all the eggs.
A healthy layer will fill the nest with eggs each season.
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10
nouncountable
One of the seven parts of a system that describes how computers send data to each other.
Like floors in a building, each one doing a different job.
The network layer decides the best path for the data.
Each layer does its own job before passing data along.
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Less common meanings

11
nouncountable
A second set of key meanings you reach by holding or pressing a special key.
Like the shift key making letters do something new, but for the whole keyboard.
Hold the function key to reach the number layer.
This small keyboard puts the arrows on a second layer.
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12
USLAY-ur/ˈleɪ.ɚ/UKLAY-uh/ˈleɪ.ə/
nouncountable
A person who lays something, like floor tiles or a bet.
Like a worker who sets one tile after another.
We hired a skilled layer to set the new floor tiles.
As a layer, he takes bets rather than placing them.
Note
13
USLAY-ur/ˈleɪ.ɚ/UKLAY-uh/ˈleɪ.ə/
nouncountable
A plant shoot bent down and covered with soil so it grows roots.
Like burying part of a plant's branch so it grows roots of its own.
She pinned a layer of the vine into the soil to grow a new plant.
Each layer will form its own roots before being cut free.
Note

Practice

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

Origins

Meanings 1–7, 10–11

This word may come from Middle English "leyer" (a layer of stones), from "lay" plus "-er". But some say it comes instead from an old farming spelling of "lair", meaning soil where cows rest.

Meanings 8–9, 12–13

From "lay" plus "-er".