INDEX:
to lie down
1. to lie down after you have been standing or sitting
2. to be in a lying position
to tell a lie
3. to say or write something that is not true
4. something untrue that is said or written
5. to invent a false story, excuse, name etc
6. someone who lies
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ STAND
↑ SIT
↑ BEND (2)
↑ REST
↑ SLEEP
↑ RELAX/RELAXED
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1. to lie down after you have been standing or sitting
▷ lie down /ˌlaɪ ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to put yourself in a flat position on a surface such as a bed, especially in order to relax or to go to sleep :
▪ You look really tired. Why don’t you go and lie down for a while?
▪ For this exercise, it is best to lie down, or sit with both feet on the floor.
lie down on
▪ I didn’t feel very well, so I lay down on the bed and tried to rest.
▷ lie /laɪ/ [intransitive verb]
to put yourself in a flat position on a surface :
lie on
▪ Libby switched off the light and lay on the couch, staring into the darkness.
▪ Lie on the floor and put your legs in the air.
lie on your back/stomach
▪ The baby was lying on his back in his crib, perfectly content.
▷ stretch out /ˌstretʃ ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to lie with your body and legs straight so that you can relax :
▪ I think I’ll go upstairs and stretch out for a little while.
stretch out on
▪ ‘I’m pooped,’ said Homer, stretching out on his bunk.
▷ sprawl/sprawl out /sprɔːl, ˌsprɔːl ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to lie or sit with your arms or legs stretched out in a lazy or careless way :
sprawl/sprawl out on
▪ ‘What a beautiful day,’ said Olly, sprawling out on the sand.
▪ Kerry came into the room, obviously drunk, and sprawled on the bed.
2. to be in a lying position
▷ lie /laɪ/ [intransitive verb]
to be in a flat position, for example on a bed or the floor :
lie in/on etc
▪ I spent most of the morning lying in bed.
lie face down
▪ When they found him, he was lying face down in a pool of blood.
lie on your back/stomach
▪ Frank was lying there flat on his back, snoring away.
▷ recline /rɪˈklaɪn/ [intransitive verb] formal
to lie or lean back in a very relaxed way :
recline on
▪ Many of Roche’s earlier paintings are of young men reclining on sofas.
recline in
▪ Reclining in a comfortable chair, David idly flipped through a magazine.
reclining [adjective]
▪ She later did a series of photographic studies of reclining nudes.
▷ stretched out /ˌstretʃt ˈaʊt/ [adjective phrase]
lying with your body and legs straight in order to relax because your body is tired :
▪ Sean was stretched out on the carpet, listening to music.
▪ As she let herself in the front door, she caught sight of Stafford, stretched out on the sofa, a book in hand.
lie stretched out
▪ The dog lay stretched out in front of the fire.
▷ sprawled/sprawled out /sprɔːld, ˌsprɔːld ˈaʊt/ [adjective]
lying or sitting with your arms or legs stretched out in a lazy or careless way :
▪ There was Quinn, sprawled out on the grass, sound asleep.
lie sprawled/sprawled out
▪ The children were lying sprawled out in front of the television.
▷ spreadeagled /ˌspredˈiːg ə ldǁˈsprediːg ə ld/ [adjective] especially British
lying flat with your arms and legs spread as wide apart as possible :
▪ Ellen lost her balance and ended up spreadeagled on her back on the pavement.
▪ The court heard how he confronted the couple, forced them to lie spreadeagled on the ground, and pointed a gun at their heads.
3. to say or write something that is not true
▷ lie /laɪ/ [intransitive verb]
to deliberately tell someone something that is not true :
▪ I looked at her face and just knew that she was lying.
lie to
▪ Don’t lie to me! I know where you were last night.
lie about
▪ Movie stars always lie about their age.
lie through your teeth
to deliberately say something that is completely untrue, in a way that makes other people angry or upset
▪ ‘The witness was lying through his teeth,’ said Davis, ‘and should be charged with perjury.’
▷ tell a lie /ˌtel ə ˈlaɪ/ [verb phrase]
to deliberately tell someone something that is not true :
▪ The guy’s always telling lies.
▪ Are you accusing me of telling lies?
▪ The boys tell lies to get each other into trouble.
tell somebody a lie
▪ Of course it’s true. I wouldn’t tell you a lie.
▷ tell tales /ˌtel ˈteɪlz/ [verb phrase] British
if someone, especially a child, tells tales, they tell lies about someone else, in order to make you believe that the other person has behaved badly :
▪ Daisy Venables, you naughty girl, have you been telling tales again?
tell tales on
▪ According to the children, telling tales on each other was as bad as cheating.
▷ tell fibs also tell porkies British informal /ˌtel ˈfɪbz, ˌtel ˈpɔːʳkiz/ [verb phrase]
to tell lies, especially ones that are not very important - used especially by children :
▪ Now, Martin, you mustn’t tell fibs.
▪ His mother says that he sometimes tells fibs.
▷ fib /fɪb/ [intransitive verb]
to tell a lie - especially one that is not very important :
▪ When she asked if they wanted to stay for tea, Larry fibbed and said they had a few errands to run.
fib about
▪ He fibbed about his age.
▷ be economical with the truth /biː ekəˌnɒmɪk ə l wɪð ðə ˈtruːθǁ-ˌnɑː-/ [verb phrase usually in progressive] especially British
to not tell the whole truth about something - use this in a humorous way to say indirectly that someone is lying :
▪ Don’t you feel like you’re being a bit economical with the truth here?
▪ Leonard had, as he put it, been ‘economical with the truth’ at times.
▷ perjury /ˈpɜːʳdʒəri/ [uncountable noun]
the crime of telling a lie in a court of law when you have promised to tell the truth :
commit perjury
▪ Do you realise that by lying to the court you have committed perjury?
charge somebody with perjury
▪ Both witnesses are accused of giving false evidence and will likely be charged with perjury.
find somebody guilty of perjury
▪ Hall was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice.
4. something untrue that is said or written
▷ lie /laɪ/ [countable noun]
something that you say which you know is not true :
▪ Jim said that he was planning to stay home and watch TV, but I knew it was a lie.
lie about
▪ How can the newspapers print all these lies about her?
a pack of lies
so many lies that you feel shocked or angry
▪ He called the report ‘a pack of lies’.
a bald-faced/an outright/a downright lie
a clear and shocking lie
▪ Davenport said the congressman’s allegations were nothing more than ‘downright lies’.
▷ white lie /ˌwaɪt ˈlaɪ/ [countable noun]
a lie that does not harm anyone, especially one that is told in order to avoid hurting someone’s feelings :
▪ It’s just a little white lie. No real harm done.
▪ I told him his suit looked wonderful, which was a white lie.
▪ ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t come. I had a really bad headache,’ she explained, resorting to a white lie.
▷ fib /fɪb/ [countable noun] informal
a lie, especially one that is not very important :
▪ You’re not telling me a fib, are you?
fib about
▪ I had to make up some fib about why I was late.
▷ falsehood /ˈfɔːlshʊd/ [countable noun] formal
an untrue statement or story, especially one that has been carefully and deliberately invented to give people the wrong idea about someone or something :
▪ Mudge, in a written statement Wednesday, said the article was a collection of ‘falsehoods and misinformation’.
spread a falsehood
▪ Why Campbell had chosen to spread such a falsehood is a mystery.
▷ half-truth /ˈhɑːf truːθǁˈhæf-/ [countable noun]
a statement that is almost a lie because it does not tell the whole truth about something :
▪ McCarthy’s blend of half-truths and lies ruined many careers in government and the professions.
▪ Forbes’ book on Bonham is littered with half-truths, and, in some cases, outright lies.
▷ misinformation /ˌmɪsɪnfəʳˈmeɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
incorrect information, especially information that is deliberately intended to deceive people :
▪ According to Kramer, the Internet is a storehouse of lies and misinformation.
misinformation about
▪ ‘For months, the Democrats have run television commercials filled with misinformation about the Republican Party,’ said Dawson.
▷ disinformation /ˌdɪsɪnfəʳˈmeɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
false information which is given deliberately in order to hide the truth or confuse people, especially in political situations :
▪ The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the report as ‘disinformation’.
disinformation about
▪ Logan said government agents are still spreading disinformation about leaders of the political reform movement.
▷ propaganda /ˌprɒpəˈgændəǁˌprɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
false or partly false information that is spread by a government or political organization, in order to make people support and agree with their political aims and beliefs :
▪ Propaganda is a tool of war.
Communist/US etc propaganda
▪ Radio Marti is still there, spewing its US propaganda across the waters toward Cuba.
propaganda campaign
an organized plan to spread propaganda
▪ In Najaf, Khomeini had begun a propaganda campaign against the Shah.
anti-Western/anti-Communist/anti-Labour etc propaganda
▪ a piece of anti-Communist propaganda
▷ smear campaign /ˈsmɪəʳ kæmˌpeɪn/ [countable noun]
when people tell lies about someone in the newspapers, on television etc, in order to make people have a bad opinion of that person :
mount a smear campaign against somebody
▪ The Labour Party mounted a smear campaign against Livingstone before the election.
5. to invent a false story, excuse, name etc
▷ make up /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to think of a story, excuse, explanation etc that is not true, especially in order to deceive people or to protect yourself :
make up something
▪ I gave her the wrong name, and made up a telephone number with a Los Angeles area code.
make something/it up
▪ You don’t have to tell him why, just make something up.
▷ invent /ɪnˈvent/ [transitive verb]
to think of a story, excuse, name etc that is not true in order to deceive people :
▪ I invented reasons for never seeing him again.
▪ He began inventing excuses for why he had done nothing to help.
▪ He invented fictional ancestors and a family history to impress the girls.
▷ fabricate /ˈfæbrɪkeɪt/ [transitive verb] formal
to think of a false story, piece of information etc in order to deceive people or prevent them from discovering the truth :
▪ Officials were accused of fabricating the evidence that was given at the trial.
▪ The woman said she fabricated her testimony because she thought she was going to get a $10,000 reward.
fabrication /ˌfæbrɪˈkeɪʃ ə n/ [countable/uncountable noun]
pure fabrication
▪ Police now believe that the whole story was pure fabrication.
▷ cook up informal /concoct formal /ˌkʊk ˈʌp, kənˈkɒktǁ-ˈkɑːkt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to spend time thinking of a false story, excuse, plant etc, especially with other people :
▪ I cooked up an excuse so I could leave early.
▪ His lawyers concocted a theory that the police had planted the evidence against him.
cook up a scheme
▪ He cooked up some crazy scheme for making money, and ended up being arrested.
6. someone who lies
▷ liar /ˈlaɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
▪ She may be stupid, but she’s not a liar.
call somebody a liar
▪ Are you calling me a liar?
compulsive/habitual/pathological liar
someone who cannot stop telling lies
▪ Coleman described the president as a ‘pathological liar’ and ‘a criminal in the White House.’
▷ fibber /ˈfɪbəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who tells lies, especially ones that are not very important :
▪ You are such a fibber!