1
as in to put
to arrange something in a certain spot or position
just lay the book over there on the table for now
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to impose
to establish or apply as a charge or penalty
state officials tried to lay a tax on merchandise sold over the Internet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to prepare
to make ready in advance
she's laying plans for the charity auction months ahead of time
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in to spread
to put a layer of on a surface
the mason laid mortar over the first row of bricks before starting the second
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
7
as in to ascribe
to explain (something) as being the result of something else
an electrical fire that was laid to faulty wiring
Synonyms & Similar Words
8
as in to bury
to place (a dead body) in the earth, a tomb, or the sea
lay the corpse to rest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in ballad
a short musical composition for the human voice often with instrumental accompaniment
she sang a short lay in dedication to her husband
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in work
the activity by which one regularly makes a living
my main lay is as a general contractor, but I do side work as a carpenter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in laic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of lay
Brooke Schedneck, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2025
Professional societies, meetings, the lay press and websites are all valuable sources of information.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Being in the highest tertile (one third for the lay person) of cardio health, Bhatt said, will add close to a decade to your life.
—John Werner, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Beyond lay undulating dunes and sand mountains.
—Sue Mead, Popular Science, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay
Adjective
The lay community provides for monks and temples, in exchange for the spiritual currency of merit, which is believed to turn into good karma.
—Brooke Schedneck, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2025
Professional societies, meetings, the lay press and websites are all valuable sources of information.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Being in the highest tertile (one third for the lay person) of cardio health, Bhatt said, will add close to a decade to your life.
—John Werner, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Beyond lay undulating dunes and sand mountains.
—Sue Mead, Popular Science, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay
Verb
-
Trump was given 10 days to put the injunction into effect, per the order accompanying the ruling.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
30 May 2025
-
Moira puts Morck in charge of the initiative, sending him down to a glorified bathroom in a subbasement, providing no additional resources and moving the budget into other underserved departments.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
29 May 2025
Verb
-
They were welcomed into the world at 29 weeks and spent some time in NICU before settling into their home with their two brothers, who are now two and four years old.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
-
Whether the next superintendent comes from the city or the district is significant because whoever takes over will immediately face an uphill battle in settling the books for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.—
Nell Salzman,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
After deliberating for parts of three days during the punishment phase of the trial, some jurors told the Tribune the decision to impose the death penalty had been a difficult one.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
-
In that case, West Virginia challenged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s authority to impose regulations to effectively control the state's energy policy through the Clean Power Plan.—
Zoltan Istvan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
So each block has a director, and one block prepares and starts to shoot, then halfway [through] the other is prepping, and then starts to shoot.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
-
Her 17-year-old is preparing for graduation while working as a lifeguard.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA Today,
29 May 2025
Verb
-
After rumors spread recently that Coinbase and Ripple were vying to acquire Circle, the largest stablecoin company in the United States just squashed speculation by announcing their IPO will go live next week on June 4.—
Cleve Mesidor,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
-
But some storefronts have shuttered as fear has spread, said Marie Jean-Francois, 45, one business owner there.—
Mark Bonamo,
New York Times,
1 June 2025
Verb
-
The player sat at a Buffalo Link game at the Four Queens Hotel & Casino, bet $30 and won $5,285.96.—
Helena Wegner,
Sacbee.com,
22 May 2025
-
The fact that GitHub is betting on Claude rather than a model from its parent company Microsoft (which has close ties to OpenAI) suggests Anthropic has built something genuinely competitive.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2025
Verb
-
Such takes ascribe an idiot savant quality to his governance style, furthered by what appears to be the presence of the Dunning-Kruger effect, in which confidence is conflated with competence.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Mar. 2025
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Many persons believed the shock was due to an explosion, but investigation developed that no explosion had occurred and the tremors were finally ascribed to an earthquake.—
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,
arkansasonline.com,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The authority said its preliminary assessment is that three excavators and six trucks were buried by the landslide.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
-
Years later, the two had a poolside sit-down at a Los Angeles hotel to bury the hatchet and the two-hour conversation still wasn’t enough to patch things up, Francesa said.—
Mark Morales,
CNN Money,
29 May 2025
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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