LIE (lain, lay, lying)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Lie mean? 

• LIE (noun)
  The noun LIE has 3 senses:

1. a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

2. Norwegian diplomat who was the first Secretary General of the United Nations (1896-1968)

3. position or manner in which something is situated

  Familiarity information: LIE used as a noun is uncommon.

• LIE (verb)
  The verb LIE has 7 senses:

1. be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position

2. be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position

3. originate (in)

4. be and remain in a particular state or condition

5. tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive

6. have a place in relation to something else

7. assume a reclining position

  Familiarity information: LIE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LIE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

lie; prevarication

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

falsehood; falsity; untruth (a false statement)

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

jactitation ((law) a false boast that can harm others; especially a false claim to be married to someone (formerly actionable at law))

walloper; whopper (a gross untruth; a blatant lie)

white lie (an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite))

fib; story; tale; taradiddle; tarradiddle (a trivial lie)

Derivation:

lie (tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Norwegian diplomat who was the first Secretary General of the United Nations (1896-1968)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Lie; Trygve Halvden Lie; Trygve Lie

Instance hypernyms:

diplomat; diplomatist (an official engaged in international negotiations)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Position or manner in which something is situated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

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

place; position (the particular portion of space occupied by something)

Derivation:

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

lie (originate (in))

lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)

lie (have a place in relation to something else)

lie (be and remain in a particular state or condition)

• LIE (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Verb group:

lie; rest (have a place in relation to something else)

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

look across; look out on; look out over; overlook (be oriented in a certain direction)

orient; point (be oriented)

line; run along (be in line with; form a line along)

command; dominate; overlook; overtop (look down on)

head (be in the front of or on top of)

flank (be located at the sides of something or somebody)

back (be in back of)

face; front; look (be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to)

cap; crest (lie at the top of)

underlie (lie underneath)

precede; predate (come before)

slant (lie obliquely)

focalise; focalize; localise; localize (concentrate on a particular place or spot)

lap (lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another)

ride (lie moored or anchored)

mediate (occupy an intermediate or middle position or form a connecting link or stage between two others)

top (be at the top of or constitute the top or highest point)

intervene (be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and events)

nestle (lie in a sheltered position)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sentence examples:

The children lie in the rocking chair
There lie some children in the rocking chair

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

the books are lying on the shelf

"Lie" entails doing...:

lie; lie down (assume a reclining position)

Verb group:

lie; lie down (assume a reclining position)

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

bask (be exposed)

repose (lie when dead)

lie awake (lie without sleeping)

overlie (lie upon; lie on top of)

recline; recumb; repose (lean in a comfortable resting position)

sprawl (sit or lie with one's limbs spread out)

sun; sunbathe (expose one's body to the sun)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Antonym:

sit (be seated)

stand (be standing; be upright)

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Originate (in)

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

consist; dwell; lie; lie in

Context example:

The problems dwell in the social injustices in this country

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

be; exist (have an existence, be extant)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be and remain in a particular state or condition

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

lie dormant

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

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s Adjective

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

She lied when she told me she was only 29

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

misinform; mislead (give false or misleading information to)

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

romance (tell romantic or exaggerated lies)

perjure (knowingly tell an untruth in a legal court and render oneself guilty of perjury)

fib (tell a relatively insignificant lie)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s to somebody

Derivation:

liar (a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly)

lie (a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth)

lying (the deliberate act of deviating from the truth)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Have a place in relation to something else

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

lie; rest

Context example:

The responsibility rests with the Allies

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

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Verb group:

lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Assume a reclining position

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

lie; lie down

Context example:

lie down on the bed until you feel better

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

change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)

Verb group:

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

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

stretch; stretch out (lie down comfortably)

charge (lie down on command, of hunting dogs)

bow down; prostrate (get into a prostrate position, as in submission)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

 Context examples 

Why, I could name ye a dozen whose bones lie in the Greenland seas above—he pointed northwards—or where the currents may have drifted them.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

But energy spenders burn approximately 10% more energy when they switch from sitting or lying to standing.

(Spending more time standing helps increase energy expenditure and combats the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, University of Granada)

I lay on my straw, but I could not sleep.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

There, on a hatch, a large man was lying on his back.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Before I could do much to help him he had fallen back again to his former place, where he lay for a while silent.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

At six o'clock he awoke, quietly lying on his back.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

My old dear bedroom was changed, and I was to lie a long way off.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“He never told you,” cried Mr. Hyde, with a flush of anger. “I did not think you would have lied.”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The cub, who had thus received a name in the world, lay and watched.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

He lay quietly where he had fallen.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)