Meaning

23 senses
  1. (transitive)To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.

    to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave

    A shower of rain lays the dust.

    legen

    кластьklastʹ, положи́тьpoložítʹ, укла́дыватьukládyvatʹ

    кла́стиklásty, ложи́тиložýty

    put in a horizontal position

  2. (transitive)To compel a supernatural entity to cease haunting a place, often by ritual or prayer; to exorcise or banish (a spirit or ghost).

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

    ablegen

    накрыва́тьnakryvátʹ, накры́тьnakrýtʹ

  4. (transitive)To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.

    lay brick; lay flooring

    legen

    укла́дыватьukládyvatʹ, уложи́тьuložítʹ

    уклада́тиukladáty

  5. (transitive)To produce and deposit (an egg or eggs).

    The hen laid an egg.

    Did dinosaurs lay their eggs in a nest?

    lay eggs

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

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

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

    держа́ть пари́deržátʹ parí, би́ться об закла́дbítʹsja ob zaklád

  8. (slang, transitive)To have sex with.

    to get laid

    flachlegen

    пересыпа́тьperesypátʹ, переспа́тьperespátʹ

  9. (transitive)To state; to allege.

    to lay the venue

  10. (transitive)To point; to aim.

    to lay a gun

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

    to lay a cable or rope

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

Examples

605 sentences
  1. She laid herself on the grass.

    Вона лягла на траву.

    ruОна легла на траву.

    deSie legte sich auf das Gras.

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  2. The chicken laid an egg this morning.

    Курка сьогодні вранці знесла яйце.

    ruСегодня утром курица снесла яйцо.

    deDas Huhn hat heute Morgen ein Ei gelegt.

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  3. He laid himself flat on the floor.

    Він розтягнувся на підлозі.

    deEr legte sich auf den Fußboden.

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  4. She laid her baby on the bed.

    Вона поклала дитину на ліжко.

    ruОна положила своего ребёнка на кровать.

    deSie legte ihr Baby aufs Bett.

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  5. Tom laid the book on the desk.

    Том поклав книжку на письмовий стіл.

    ruТом положил книгу на письменный стол.

    deTom legte das Buch auf den Schreibtisch.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 3
to place something down in a position of rest:
to install certain building materials:
to deposit an egg:
Русский
By meaning 5
to place something down in a position of rest:
to prepare groundwork, table etc.:
to wager:
to have sex with:
to deposit an egg:
Deutsch
By meaning 3
to place something down in a position of rest:
to leave something somewhere:
to have sex with:

Origin

Inherited from Middle English leyen, leggen, from Old English leċġan (“to lay”), from Prot

Inherited from Middle English leyen, leggen, from Old English leċġan (“to lay”), from Proto-West Germanic *laggjan, from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną (“to lay”), causative form of Proto-Germanic *ligjaną (“to lie, recline”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, recline”).

Semantic loan from Yiddish לייגן (leygn, “to put, lay”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

lays, laying, laid, laid
Base formlay · to lay
3rd person singularlays
Present participlelaying
Past simplelaid
Past participlelaid

irregular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theylay
he, she, itlays

Past simpleLesson

all personslaid

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave laid
he, she, ithas laid

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill lay

Phrasal verbs

15 phrasal verbs

Synonyms

117 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

75 related words

Collocations

12 patterns
  • be laid off
  • get laid off
  • laid back
  • very laid back
  • laid eyes on
  • get laid
  • never laid a
  • might be laid
  • is very laid
  • laid eyes
  • never laid
  • to be laid

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
lay — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto