- lay
- I [[t]le͟ɪ[/t]]
VERB AND NOUN USES
♦♦lays, laying, laid(In standard English, the form lay is also the past tense of the verb in some meanings. In informal English, people sometimes use the word lay instead of <1) VERB If you lay something somewhere, you put it there in a careful, gentle, or neat way.
[V n prep/adv] Lay a sheet of newspaper on the floor...
[V n prep/adv] My father's working bench was covered with a cloth and his coffin was laid there...
[V n prep/adv] Mothers routinely lay babies on their backs to sleep.
2) VERB If you lay the table or lay the places at a table, you arrange the knives, forks, and other things that people need on the table before a meal. [mainly BRIT](in AM, use set)[V n] The butler always laid the table.
3) VERB If you lay something such as carpets, cables, or foundations, you put them into their permanent position.[V n] A man came to lay the saloon carpet...
[V n] Public utilities dig up roads to lay pipes.
4) VERB To lay a trap means to prepare it in order to catch someone or something.[V n] They were laying a trap for the kidnapper.
5) VERB When a female bird lays an egg, it produces an egg by pushing it out of its body.[V n] My canary has laid an egg...
Freezing weather in spring hampered the hens' ability to lay.
6) VERB Lay is used with some nouns to talk about making official preparations for something. For example, if you lay the basis for something or lay plans for it, you prepare it carefully.[V n] Diplomats meeting in Chile have laid the groundwork for far-reaching environmental regulations...
[V n] The organisers meet in March to lay plans.
7) VERB Lay is used with some nouns in expressions about accusing or blaming someone. For example, if you lay the blame for a mistake on someone, you say it is their fault, or if the police lay charges against someone, they officially accuse that person of a crime.[V n prep] She refused to lay the blame on any one party...
[V n prep] He could not bear to lay too much responsibility for the unhappiness of his later years on his own shoulders...
[V n] Police have decided not to lay charges over allegations of a telephone tapping operation.
8) VERB If you say that you would lay bets, odds, or money on something happening, you mean that you are very confident that it will happen. [INFORMAL][V n on n/-ing] I wouldn't lay bets on his still remaining manager after the spring...
[V n that] I'll lay odds that Dean is at your office right now.
10) N-COUNT: usu adj N Lay is used in expressions such a good lay or an easy lay to describe what someone is like as a sexual partner. [RUDE]11) PHRASE: V inflects If someone is laying it on thick or is laying it on, they are exaggerating a statement, experience, or emotion in order to try to impress people. [INFORMAL]Don't lay it on too thick, but make sure they are flattered...
I may have spoken a bit too freely, been a bit extreme, even laid it on a little.
12) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If you lay yourself open to criticism or attack, or if something lays you open to it, something you do makes it possible or likely that other people will criticize or attack you.The party thereby lays itself open to charges of conflict of interest...
Such a statement could lay her open to ridicule.
Phrasal Verbs:- lay down- lay in- lay into- lay off- lay on- lay out- lay upII [[t]le͟ɪ[/t]] ADJECTIVE USES1) ADJ: ADJ n You use lay to describe people who are involved with a Christian church but are not members of the clergy or are not monks or nuns.Edwards is a Methodist lay preacher and social worker.
2) ADJ: ADJ n You use lay to describe people who are not experts or professionals in a particular subject or activity.It is difficult for a lay person to gain access to medical libraries...
It is not just a textbook for professional diplomats. The lay reader will enjoy the anecdotes.
English dictionary. 2008.
