Definition of "lay" in Englisch

verb

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.
To cause to subside or abate.
To prepare (a plan, project etc.); to set out, establish (a law, principle).
To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.
- lay brick; lay flooring
To produce and deposit (an egg or eggs).
- The hen laid an egg.
- Did dinosaurs lay their eggs in a nest?
To bet (that something is or is not the case).
- I'll lay that he doesn't turn up on Monday.
To deposit (a stake) as a wager; to stake; to risk.
To have sex with.
- to get laid
To state; to allege.
- to lay the venue
To point; to aim.
- to lay a gun
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
To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.
To place (new type) properly in the cases.
To apply; to put.
- The news article laid emphasis on the unusually young age of the criminals.
To impose (a burden, punishment, command, tax, etc.).
- to lay a tax on land
To impute; to charge; to allege.
To present or offer.
- to lay an indictment in a particular county
- I have laid the facts of the matter before you.
To produce and deposit an egg or eggs.
To subside or abate.
To take a position; to come or go.
- to lay forward; to lay aloft
To lie: to rest in a horizontal position on a surface.
- I found him laying on the floor.
- Let me lay down beside you. / Let me always be with you.

noun

Arrangement or relationship; layout.
- the lay of the land
A share of the profits in a business.

While the Pequod lay at Nantucket, Peleg put Ishmael down for the three hundredth lay.

The direction a rope is twisted.

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

(colloquial) A casual sexual partner.

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

(colloquial) An act of sexual intercourse.

(slang, archaic) A place or activity where someone spends a significant portion of their time.

The laying of eggs.

The hens are off the lay at present.

(obsolete) A layer.

1766, Thomas Amory, The Life of John Buncle, Esq., London: J. Johnson and B. Davenport, Volume 2, Section 1, p. 16, footnote 1, […] in one particular it exceeds the fen birds, for it has two tastes; it being brown and white meat: under a lay of brown is a lay of white meat […]

(obsolete) A basis or ground.

(thieves' cant, obsolete) A pursuit or practice; a dodge.

adjective

Not belonging to the clergy, but associated with them.
- They seemed more lay than clerical.
- a lay preacher; a lay brother
Non-professional; not being a member of an organized institution.
(card games) Not trumps.
- a lay suit
(obsolete) Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.

verb

simple past of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)
- The baby lay in its crib and slept silently.

noun

A ballad or sung poem; a short poem or narrative, usually intended to be sung.
- 1925 The Lay of Leithien, poem by J.R.R. Tolkien, Anglo-Saxon Professor.
A lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.
- 1945: "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun" by JRR Tolkien Sad is the note and sad the lay, but mirth we meet not every day.

noun

(obsolete) A meadow; a lea.

noun

(obsolete) A law.
(obsolete) An obligation; a vow.

verb

(Judaism, transitive) To don or put on (tefillin (phylacteries)).