I. POSITION OR SITUATION
(~s, lying, lay, lain)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
Please look at category 8 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
If you are lying somewhere, you are in a horizontal position and are not standing or sitting.
There was a child lying on the ground...
He lay awake watching her for a long time.
VERB: V prep/adv, V adj
2.
If an object ~s in a particular place, it is in a flat position in that place.
...a newspaper lying on a nearby couch...
Broken glass lay scattered on the carpet.
VERB: V prep/adv, V adj
3.
If you say that a place ~s in a particular position or direction, you mean that it is situated there.
The islands ~ at the southern end of the Kurile chain.
= sit
VERB: V prep/adv
4.
You can use ~ to say that something is or remains in a particular state or condition. For example, if something ~s forgotten, it has been and remains forgotten.
The picture lay hidden in the archives for over 40 years...
His country’s economy ~s in ruins.
V-LINK: V adj, V prep
5.
You can use ~ to say what position a competitor or team is in during a competition. (mainly BRIT)
I was going well and was lying fourth...
Blyth Tait is lying in second place.
VERB: V ord, V in n
6.
You can talk about where something such as a problem, solution, or fault ~s to say what you think it consists of, involves, or is caused by.
The problem lay in the large amounts spent on defence...
VERB: V prep/adv
7.
You use ~ in expressions such as ~ ahead, ~ in store, and ~ in wait when you are talking about what someone is going to experience in the future, especially when it is something unpleasant or difficult.
She’d need all her strength and bravery to cope with what lay in store...
The President’s most serious challenges ~ ahead.
VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv
8.
to ~ in state: see state
to take something lying down: see take
II. THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE
(~s, lying, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is something that someone says or writes which they know is untrue.
‘Who else do you work for?’—‘No one.’—‘That’s a ~.’...
I’ve had enough of your ~s...
All the boys told ~s about their adventures.
N-COUNT
see also white ~
2.
If someone is lying, they are saying something which they know is not true.
I know he’s lying...
If asked, he ~s about his age...
She ~d to her husband so she could meet her lover...
He reportedly called her ‘a lying little twit’.
VERB: V, V about n, V to n, V-ing
lying
Lying is something that I will not tolerate.
N-UNCOUNT
3.
If you say that something ~s, you mean that it does not express or represent something accurately.
The camera can sometimes ~.
VERB: V
4.
see also lying