# lie

Pronunciation: US say "LY" /laɪ̯/; UK

## Verb

1. To intentionally give false information in order to deceive someone.
   - Simple: To say something you know is not true so that others believe it.
   - _Witnesses sometimes lie under oath despite the serious consequences._
   - _He lied repeatedly to cover up the missing money._
2. To be in a flat or resting position on a surface, used of people and animals stretched out, and of objects.
   - Simple: To be flat on something, like a person resting on a bed or a book on a table.
   - _After the long hike, they wanted to lie down and rest._
   - _She lay on the couch reading for hours._
3. To be situated or positioned in a particular place, as on a map or landscape.
   - Simple: To be found in a particular place or position.
   - _The ancient ruins lie just beyond the river._
   - _Their farmland lies between two ranges of hills._
5. To exist or be found in something, used with in to point to where a quality, cause, or solution rests.
   - Simple: To be found in something, such as a reason or a quality.
   - _The beauty of the design lies in its simplicity._
   - _Real solutions lie in cooperation between neighbors._
6. To remain or be in a particular state or condition for a time, especially still, quiet or unused.
   - Simple: To stay in a certain state for some time, often still, quiet or not used.
   - _The factory has lain idle since the company went bankrupt in the spring._
   - _Vast fields lie fallow throughout the coldest winter months._
7. To be the duty or responsibility of a person, followed by with, on or upon.
   - Simple: To be someone's job or duty to do something.
   - _Final responsibility lies on the captain of the ship._
   - _The duty to enforce these rules will now lie upon the newly appointed director._
8. Of a thing, to give a false or misleading impression, whether by design or by error.
   - Simple: Of a thing, to give a wrong idea of the truth, as in 'the camera never lies'.
   - _Numbers can lie when they are pulled out of context._
   - _Her bright smile lied, hiding the grief underneath._
12. To have sexual relations with someone, used with the preposition 'with.' *(literary)*
   - Simple: To have sex with someone.
   - _Ancient law forbade a man to lie with his brother's wife._
   - _They had lain together only once before the war separated them._
17. To have stated something false without meaning to, said especially when putting oneself right straight away. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To have said something that is not true by accident, often when you correct yourself at once.
   - _The museum opened in 1990, no, I lie, it was 1992._
   - _Dinner will be ready at seven. Actually, I lie: the roast needs another half hour._

## Noun

4. A statement made on purpose to deceive, usually one the speaker knows is untrue, but sometimes a literally true statement designed to mislead.
   - Simple: Something you say on purpose to fool someone, usually something you know is not true.
   - _The detective quickly saw through the suspect's lie._
   - _A single lie can destroy years of trust._
9. The way in which something is placed or arranged; its relative position within its setting.
   - Simple: The way something is placed or positioned in relation to its surroundings.
   - _Surveyors mapped the lie of the slope before approving the design._
   - _From the ridge, you could see the whole lie of the valley below._
10. Anything that misleads people or fails to live up to what it promised.
   - Simple: Something that gives false hope or lets you down.
   - _The glossy brochure proved a lie once they saw the cramped rooms._
   - _The 'waterproof' jacket was a lie; I was soaked within ten minutes._
11. In golf or disc golf, the position where the ball or disc has come to rest, together with the surrounding conditions, before the next shot.
   - Simple: In golf, where the ball has stopped and what the ground around it is like.
   - _The golfer studied her lie before selecting a club._
   - _A downhill lie forced him to adjust his stance._
13. A liar; a dishonest person who cannot be trusted. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who tells lies and cannot be trusted.
   - _"Man, you a lie," Marcus said when his friend claimed he'd beaten the game in one night._
   - _You're a lie if you say you didn't take the money._
14. In medicine, the position in which an unborn baby is lying inside the womb before birth.
   - Simple: In medicine, the way a baby is positioned inside the womb.
   - _The midwife noted a transverse lie during the examination._
   - _An abnormal lie may require a cesarean section._
16. A wild animal's resting place or lair, where it shelters or sleeps.
   - Simple: The resting place or den of a wild animal.
   - _The hare bolted from its lie the moment we stepped onto the field._
   - _Our fishing guide pointed out a quiet lie behind a boulder where trout rest out of the current._

## Verb

15. To lodge or sleep somewhere overnight; to stay for the night. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To sleep or stay the night somewhere.

## Other meanings

- (verb) Of a legal action or claim, to be capable of being maintained or pursued before a court.

## Origin

**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.
**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').
**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').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lie (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).