LAY (laid)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lay mean? 

• LAY (noun)
  The noun LAY has 2 senses:

1. a narrative song with a recurrent refrain

2. a narrative poem of popular origin

  Familiarity information: LAY used as a noun is rare.

• LAY (adjective)
  The adjective LAY has 2 senses:

1. characteristic of those who are not members of the clergy

2. not of or from a profession

  Familiarity information: LAY used as an adjective is rare.

• LAY (verb)
  The verb LAY has 5 senses:

1. put into a certain place or abstract location

2. put in a horizontal position

3. prepare or position for action or operation

4. lay eggs

5. impose as a duty, burden, or punishment

  Familiarity information: LAY used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LAY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A narrative song with a recurrent refrain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

ballad; lay

Hypernyms ("lay" is a kind of...):

song; vocal (a short musical composition with words)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lay"):

minstrelsy (ballads sung by minstrels)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A narrative poem of popular origin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

ballad; lay

Hypernyms ("lay" is a kind of...):

poem; verse form (a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lay"):

Edda (either of two distinct works in Old Icelandic dating from the late 13th century and consisting of 34 mythological and heroic ballads composed between 800 and 1200; the primary source for Scandinavian mythology)

• LAY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Characteristic of those who are not members of the clergy

Synonyms:

laic; lay; secular

Context example:

the lay ministry

Similar:

profane; secular (not concerned with or devoted to religion)

Derivation:

laity (in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not of or from a profession

Context example:

a lay opinion as to the cause of the disease

Similar:

nonprofessional (not professional; not engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or for gain)

• LAY (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put into a certain place or abstract location

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

lay; place; pose; position; put; set

Context example:

Place emphasis on a certain point

Hypernyms (to "lay" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lay"):

instal; install; put in; set up (set up for use)

appose (place side by side or in close proximity)

plant; set (put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground)

recline (cause to recline)

place upright; stand; stand up (put into an upright position)

lay; put down; repose (put in a horizontal position)

seat (place in or on a seat)

seat; sit; sit down (show to a seat; assign a seat for)

upend (set, turn, or stand on end)

pillow; rest (rest on or as if on a pillow)

ground (place or put on the ground)

barrel (put in barrels)

bucket (put into a bucket)

bottle (put into bottles)

set down (put or settle into a position)

juxtapose (place side by side)

misplace (place or position wrongly; put in the wrong position)

place down; put down; set down (cause to sit or seat or be in a settled position or place)

seed; sow (place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth)

set (put into a position that will restore a normal state)

imbricate (place so as to overlap)

throw (to put into a state or activity hastily, suddenly, or carelessly)

settle; settle down (settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground)

marshal (place in proper rank)

space (place at intervals)

glycerolise; glycerolize (place in glycerol)

position (cause to be in an appropriate place, state, or relation)

seat (place or attach firmly in or on a base)

siphon (move a liquid from one container into another by means of a siphon or a siphoning action)

deposit; fix; posit; situate (put (something somewhere) firmly)

cram (put something somewhere so that the space is completely filled)

load (put (something) on a structure or conveyance)

perch (cause to perch or sit)

rest (put something in a resting position, as for support or steadying)

clap (put quickly or forcibly)

lean (cause to lean or incline)

poise (cause to be balanced or suspended)

ladle (put (a liquid) into a container by means of a ladle)

plant (place something or someone in a certain position in order to secretly observe or deceive)

dispose (place or put in a particular order)

ensconce; settle (fix firmly)

park (place temporarily)

superpose (place (one geometric figure) upon another so that their perimeters coincide)

lay over; superimpose; superpose (place on top of)

arrange; set up (put into a proper or systematic order)

pile (place or lay as if in a pile)

nestle; snuggle (position comfortably)

intersperse (place at intervals in or among)

coffin (place into a coffin)

stratify (form, arrange, or deposit in layers)

put back; replace (put something back where it belongs)

step (place (a ship's mast) in its step)

prepose (place before another constituent in the sentence)

postpose (place after another constituent in the sentence)

cock (set the trigger of a firearm back for firing)

docket (place on the docket for legal action)

enclose; inclose; insert; introduce; put in; stick in (place, fit, or thrust (something) into another thing)

emplace (provide a new emplacement for guns)

bed (put to bed)

rack up (place in a rack)

tee; tee up (place on a tee)

throw; thrust (place or put with great energy)

reposition (place into another position)

recess (put into a recess)

butt (place end to end without overlapping)

parallelize (place parallel to one another)

middle (put in the middle)

sign (place signs, as along a road)

repose (to put something (eg trust) in something)

jar (place in a cylindrical vessel)

shelve (place on a shelf)

pigeonhole (place into a small compartment)

trench (set, plant, or bury in a trench)

underlay (put (something) under or beneath)

ship (place on board a ship)

emplace (put into place or position)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They lay the bags on the table

Also:

lay out (lay out orderly or logically in a line or as if in a line)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Put in a horizontal position

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

lay; put down; repose

Context example:

lay the patient carefully onto the bed

Hypernyms (to "lay" is one way to...):

lay; place; pose; position; put; set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Cause:

lie (be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lay"):

rail (lay with rails)

lay; blow (lay eggs)

bury; entomb; inhume; inter; lay to rest (place in a grave or tomb)

rebury (bury again)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Also:

lay aside (accumulate money for future use)

lay away (save up as for future use)

lay over (place on top of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Prepare or position for action or operation

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

lay the foundation for a new health care plan

Hypernyms (to "lay" is one way to...):

devise; get up; machinate; organise; organize; prepare (arrange by systematic planning and united effort)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Lay eggs

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

This hen doesn't lay

Hypernyms (to "lay" is one way to...):

lay; put down; repose (put in a horizontal position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lay"):

spawn (lay spawn)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

layer (a hen that lays eggs)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Impose as a duty, burden, or punishment

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

lay a responsibility on someone

Hypernyms (to "lay" is one way to...):

impose; levy (impose and collect)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

 Context examples 

He still held her by the wing, and they lay on the ground and looked at each other.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

So they lay down among the sweet smelling yellow flowers and slept soundly until morning—all but the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

I lay all this while, as the reader may believe, in great uneasiness.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The day may come when she'll be glad to lay her poor head.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Her eyes wandered along the strong throat, dimly seen in the starlight, and over the firm-poised head, and the old desire to lay her hands upon his neck came back to her.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

If this need to spend more does not resonate with you, slow down spending anyway during the first three weeks until you can see the lay of the land.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

An indication or description that the laboratory testing conditions laid out in the study protocol have been met.

(Laboratory Test Protocol Test Conditions Occurrence, NCI Thesaurus)

All the peace and soothing of quiet Nature lay in that dark curtain of vegetation, but away from behind there came ever the one message from our fellow-man.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The patient lays on a table and is moved through a donut-shaped machine.

(Helical tomotherapy, NCI Dictionary)

The moderately small ears lay flat against the head.

(Flat-Coated Retriever, NCI Thesaurus)