Word Meaning

lay definition and meaning

imp. of Lie, to recline.
a. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
a. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.
a. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.
n. The laity; the common people.
n. A meadow. See Lea.
n. Faith; creed; religious profession.
n. A law.
n. An obligation; a vow.
a. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad.
a. A melody; any musical utterance.
v. t. To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust.
v. t. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table.
v. t. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
v. t. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
v. t. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.
v. t. To cause to lie dead or dying.
v. t. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
v. t. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
v. t. To apply; to put.
v. t. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
v. t. To impute; to charge; to allege.
v. t. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.
v. t. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
v. t. To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue.
v. t. To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
v. t. To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope.
v. t. To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.
v. t. To place (new type) properly in the cases.
v. i. To produce and deposit eggs.
v. i. To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.
v. i. To lay a wager; to bet.
n. That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as, a lay of stone or wood.
v. t. A wager.
v. t. A job, price, or profit.
v. t. A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay.
v. t. A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a).
v. t. The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3.
v. t. A plan; a scheme.
imp. of Lie

Crossword clues for lay

- Amateur to produce eggs
- Cause to lie
- Denude
- Eric Clapton hit, ... Down Sally
- Faith and creed
- It leaves the laity with a narrative song
- Non-clergy
- Non-professional
- Not clerical
- Olden song
- Place (bricks)
- Poem
- Position; melody
- Produce (egg) 
- Produce eggs
- Put down description of those with no formal training
- Put in a horizontal position
- Reclined
- Set down in Malaysia
- Short song
- Some players reclined 
- Spread