DictionaryAI

lie

LY/laɪ̯/

Verblies, lying, lay, lain

Noun plurallies

Often confused with lay

18 meanings of lie

Practice

  1. 1
    deceive on purposeverbintransitive
    To intentionally give false information in order to deceive someone.

    Witnesses sometimes lie under oath despite the serious consequences.

    He lied repeatedly to cover up the missing money.

    UsagePattern: lie to someone about something. The past is lied, unlike lie (rest), whose past is lay.

    Similarfib, prevaricate, dissemble

    Note

    Here the deception is deliberate, and the person deceived is introduced with to: don't lie to me. In court, lying under oath about a material matter can be perjury. Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Return of Tarzan (1913) supplies the forgivable kind: 'he lied like a gentleman.'

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Lying under oath about a material matter can be perjury. en.wikipedia.org
    • Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote The Return of Tarzan. en.wikipedia.org
    • The Return of Tarzan was first published in 1913, as a serial. en.wikipedia.org
    • The novel's narrator uses the exact words 'he lied like a gentleman' and explicitly excuses the lie. gutenberg.org
  2. 2
    rest flatverbintransitive
    To be in a flat or resting position on a surface, used of people and animals stretched out, and of objects.

    After the long hike, they wanted to lie down and rest.

    She lay on the couch reading for hours.

    UsagePast lay, past participle lain: she lay down. Don't confuse it with lay (put down): lay the book on the table.

    Similarrecline, rest, lounge, sprawl

  3. 3
    be locatedverbintransitive
    To be situated or positioned in a particular place, as on a map or landscape.

    The ancient ruins lie just beyond the river.

    Their farmland lies between two ranges of hills.

    Similarsit, stand, rest

  4. 4
    false statementnouncountable
    A statement made on purpose to deceive, usually one the speaker knows is untrue, but sometimes a literally true statement designed to mislead.

    The detective quickly saw through the suspect's lie.

    A single lie can destroy years of trust.

    UsageYou tell a lie or tell lies; a small, kind one is a white lie.

    Similarfalsehood, untruth, fib, fabrication, deception

    Oppositetruth

    Note

    Thomas Carlyle uses the plural for falsehood in general in 1841, writing 'Man everywhere is the born enemy of lies.'

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Thomas Carlyle wrote the exact sentence 'Man everywhere is the born enemy of lies' in On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History. gutenberg.org
    • The work containing the quotation was first published in 1841. en.wikipedia.org
  5. 5
    consist inverbintransitive
    To exist or be found in something, used with in to point to where a quality, cause, or solution rests.

    The beauty of the design lies in its simplicity.

    Real solutions lie in cooperation between neighbors.

    Similarreside, rest, consist, exist

  6. 6
    remainverbintransitive
    To remain or be in a particular state or condition for a time, especially still, quiet or unused.

    The factory has lain idle since the company went bankrupt in the spring.

    Vast fields lie fallow throughout the coldest winter months.

    UsageWith an adjective: lie idle, lie empty, lie fallow. The perfect is has lain.

    Similarremain, sit, stay, rest

    Note

    Here the verb works like be or remain, linking its subject to a state.

  7. 7
    be someone's dutyverbintransitive
    To be the duty or responsibility of a person, followed by with, on or upon.

    Final responsibility lies on the captain of the ship.

    The duty to enforce these rules will now lie upon the newly appointed director.

    Similarrest, fall, devolve

Practice

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

Origins

Meanings 2–3, 5–7, 9, 11–12, 14–16

This sense of 'lie', meaning to rest in a flat position, comes from Middle English lien or liggen, from Old English licgan, going back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root. It is related to Dutch liggen, German liegen, and Latin lectus ('bed'). The noun for a position shares this same origin.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • The reclining verb descends from Middle English lien or liggen, Old English licgan, Proto-Germanic, and a Proto-Indo-European root. en.wiktionary.org
  • The verb is related to Dutch liggen and German liegen. en.wiktionary.org
  • The verb is related to Latin lectus, meaning bed. en.wiktionary.org
  • The noun meaning a position shares the verb's etymology. en.wiktionary.org
Meanings 1, 8, 17

This sense of 'lie', meaning to tell a falsehood, comes from Middle English lien, from Old English leogan, going back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root. It is related to Dutch liegen, German lügen, and Swedish ljuga, and more distantly to Russian lgat ('to lie').

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • The falsehood verb descends from Middle English lien and Old English leogan. en.wiktionary.org
  • Its ancestry runs through Proto-Germanic to Proto-Indo-European. en.wiktionary.org
  • English lie is related to Dutch liegen, German lügen, and Swedish ljuga. en.wiktionary.org
  • Russian lgat means 'to lie' and is a more distant cognate. en.wiktionary.org
Meanings 4, 10, 13

This noun 'lie', meaning a falsehood, comes from Middle English lie, from Old English lyge, from Proto-Germanic *lugiz, from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to announce, tell publicly'. It is related to German Lüge, Danish løgn, and Russian ложь ('a lie').

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts