I .
/ laɪ; NAmE / verb , noun
—see also lie (II)
■ verb ( lies , lying , lay / leɪ; NAmE / lain / leɪn; NAmE /)
1.
( of a person or an animal ) to be or put yourself in a flat or horizontal position so that you are not standing or sitting :
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
to lie on your back / side / front
[ v - adj ]
The cat was lying fast asleep by the fire.
2.
( of a thing ) to be or remain in a flat position on a surface :
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
Clothes were lying all over the floor.
[ v - adj ]
The book lay open on his desk.
3.
to be, remain or be kept in a particular state :
[ v - adj ]
Snow was lying thick on the ground.
These machines have lain idle since the factory closed.
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
a ship lying at anchor
I'd rather use my money than leave it lying in the bank.
4.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] ( of a town, natural feature, etc. ) to be located in a particular place :
The town lies on the coast.
5.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to be spread out in a particular place :
The valley lay below us.
6.
[ v ] lie (in sth) ( of ideas, qualities, problems, etc. ) to exist or be found :
The problem lies in deciding when to intervene.
7.
( BrE ) to be in a particular position during a competition :
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
Thompson is lying in fourth place.
[ v - adj ]
After five games the German team are lying second.
—compare lay
•
IDIOMS
- lie ahead / in store
- lie in state
- lie in wait (for sb)
- lie low
- take sth lying down
—more at bed noun , bottom noun , heavy adverb , land noun , sleep verb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- lie around
- lie back
- lie behind sth
- lie down
- lie in
- lie with sb (to do sth)
■ noun
•
IDIOMS
- the lie of the land
II .
/ laɪ; NAmE / verb , noun
—see also lie (I)
■ verb
( lies , lying , lied , lied ) [ v ] lie (to sb) (about sth) to say or write sth that you know is not true :
You could see from his face that he was lying.
Don't lie to me!
She lies about her age.
The camera cannot lie (= give a false impression) .
—see also liar
•
IDIOMS
- lie through your teeth
- lie your way into / out of sth
■ noun
a statement made by sb knowing that it is not true :
to tell a lie
The whole story is nothing but a pack of lies .
a barefaced lie (= a lie that is deliberate and shocking)
—see also white lie
•
IDIOMS
- give the lie to sth
- I tell a lie
—more at live (I), tissue
••
WORD ORIGIN
I . Old English licgan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch liggen and German liegen , from an Indo-European root shared by Greek lektron , lekhos and Latin lectus bed.
II . Old English lyge (noun), lēogan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch liegen and German lügen .