Word Finder - lay

definition

Arrangement or relationship; layout.

example

the lay of the land

definition

A share of the profits in a business.

definition

A lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.

definition

The direction a rope is twisted.

example

Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.

definition

A casual sexual partner.

example

What was I, just another lay you can toss aside as you go on to your next conquest?

definition

An act of sexual intercourse.

definition

A plan; a scheme.

definition

(uncountable) the laying of eggs.

example

The hens are off the lay at present.

definition

A layer.

definition

To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.

example

A shower of rain lays the dust.

definition

To cause to subside or abate.

synonyms

• becalm
• settle down

definition

To prepare (a plan, project etc.); to set out, establish (a law, principle).

definition

To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.

example

lay brick;  lay flooring

definition

To produce and deposit an egg.

example

Did dinosaurs lay their eggs in a nest?

definition

To bet (that something is or is not the case).

example

I'll lay that he doesn't turn up on Monday.

definition

To deposit (a stake) as a wager; to stake; to risk.

definition

To have sex with.

synonyms

• lie by
• lie with
• sleep with

definition

To take a position; to come or go.

example

to lay forward;  to lay aloft

definition

To state; to allege.

example

to lay the venue

definition

To point; to aim.

example

to lay a gun

definition

(ropemaking) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them.

example

to lay a cable or rope

definition

To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.

definition

To place (new type) properly in the cases.

definition

To apply; to put.

definition

To impose (a burden, punishment, command, tax, etc.).

example

to lay a tax on land

definition

To impute; to charge; to allege.

synonyms

• ascribe
• attribute

definition

To present or offer.

example

to lay an indictment in a particular county;   to lay a scheme before one

What lay at the end of that path?

She lay down, hugging it.

He lay with his head propped high on the pillows.

Later as she lay awake beside him, listening to the sound of his breathing, it occurred to her that they had fallen into the pattern of making up by making love.

While you lay there choking.

For three days he lay in his strange prison.

She lay for a long time in that position.

The doctor said his cholesterol was high and told him to lay off the fats.

She rolled toward him as he lay down and sighed contentedly as she snuggled against him.

She had not been reported missing because her mother lay dead in their small rural farm house over a hundred miles away.

Zeb ran and picked up one of the Gargoyles that lay nearest to him.

First I must lay my little darling to rest.

Gabriel lay in front of her and nudged her, until her body opened to him.

The next morning, she lay curled in his arms for awhile before moving.

He lay on his side watching her sleep, wondering what dreams lived behind the sweet smile on her face.

Alex lay against her back with an arm around her; a hand cradling one of her breasts.

She lay there, sound asleep.

Gradually, his warmth sank into her skin, and she lay still, exhausted yet soothed by the heat of his body.

He lay motionless on the ground.

The French, the spy reported, having crossed the Vienna bridge, were advancing by forced marches toward Znaim, which lay sixty-six miles off on the line of Kutuzov's retreat.

Finding nothing, she spread the blanket and lay down, pulling part of it over her body.

His eyes constantly roved over the dunes and his rifle lay across his lap, ready for use.

Bordeaux lay against her back, one arm around her waist and one leg thrown carelessly over hers.

For a moment she lay still, afraid any movement would frighten him away like a wild cat in the daylight.

For a moment his hand lay there, and then he squeezed hers.

After a while Alex came in and lay down on the bed.

He set her on the bed and lay on his side, pulling her into his body once more.

One of these tribes was Midian, in whose land the mountain of God lay.

He lay down on his back and pulled the covers up.

I assumed his bedroom lay beyond the large living room that dominated the front of the house.

Dan lay on one bed, asleep.

Pressing his lips together he made that effort for the twenty-thousandth time and lay down.

Jule lay on the ground a short distance away.

Carmen lay still for a few minutes, soaking up the body heat from Alex.

Her head lay on a pillow and a blanket covered her body.

The large belt buckle at his lean waist lay flat against a washboard stomach.

Forty more lay behind that — all wild and unimproved.

A melted candle lay on the counter, a reminder of the storm, but the lights were working.

The true domestic quarter lay to the south of the great hail, and was approached from the central court by a descending staircase, of which three flights and traces of a fourth are preserved.

There is no modern survival of the name of Tyburn, which finds, indeed, its chief historical interest as attaching to the famous place of execution which lay near the modern Marble Arch.

Forgetful of the tomb, you lay the foundation of your palaces.

This stout young man was an illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov, a well-known grandee of Catherine's time who now lay dying in Moscow.

She lay on the sofa with her face to the wall, fingering the buttons of the leather cushion and seeing nothing but that cushion, and her confused thoughts were centered on one subject--the irrevocability of death and her own spiritual baseness, which she had not suspected, but which had shown itself during her father's illness.

When she seemed sufficiently exhausted, he lay on his back.

I suggest we make a date to meet back here and lay our cards on the table.

She obeyed, inching towards the bench until she lay on her side, suspended by the harness above the seat by a few inches.

However, she fell into a deep slumber soon after she lay down.

Every emotion lay there waiting to be read.

At first she lay on her back, her eyes wide open.

For a long time she lay awake listening to him breath.