I. ˈlī verb
( lay ˈlā ; lain ˈlān ; or archaic lien ˈlï(ə)n ; ly·ing ˈlīiŋ ; lies )
Etymology: Middle English liggen, ligen, lien, from Old English licgan; akin to Old High German ligen to lie, Old Norse liggja to lie, Latin lectus bed, Greek lechos bed, lechesthai to lie down, Old Irish lige bed, grave, Old Slavic ležati to lie
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to be or to stay at rest in a horizontal position : be prostrate : rest , recline
lie motionless
lie asleep
lie dead
lies in his grave
b. : to assume a horizontal position — often used with down
c. archaic : to reside temporarily : stay for the night : lodge , sojourn , sleep
d. archaic : to have sexual intercourse — used with with
e. : to stay without moving (as in concealment)
lie in wait for deer
lie in ambush
f. of a game bird : to remain still at the approach of hunters or dogs
lie to the gun
lie to a point
2.
a. : to be in a helpless or defenseless state
the town lay at the mercy of the invader
lying in prison
b. : to remain subject — used with under
the house lay under a curse
lying under a cruel despotism
3. of an inanimate thing : to be or remain in a flat or horizontal position upon a broad support
books lying on the table
snow lies on the fields
leaves lay thick on the ground
4. : to have direction : stretch , extend
the route lay to the west
thought of the empty hours that lay ahead
the grain of the wood lay crosswise
5.
a. : to occupy a certain relative place or position : become situated
easterly oases … lie close to or below sea level — W.B.Fisher
the song lies well within his range
meadows lying along the river
mountains lay between us and our goal
that way madness lies — Shakespeare
b. : to have a place in relation to something else
motive that lay behind his actions
questions lies outside the scope of our inquiry
real reason lies deeper
c. : to have an effect through mere presence, weight, or relative position
remorse lay heavily on his conscience
her years lay lightly upon her
your time will not lie heavy upon your hands — Jonathan Swift
d. law : to be sustainable or admissible : be capable of being maintained
action for libel will lie in such cases
appeal usually lies to the supreme or high court of the colony — W.E.Simnett
6.
a. : to remain at anchor or becalmed
fleet lying in the harbor
b. : to assume or maintain a position in relation to the wind
able to lie closer to the wind than the other yachts
the more a ship is trimmed by the stern the farther she will lie off the wind — Manual of Seamanship
c. lay I 5a
7. : to have place : exist
choice lay between fighting or surrendering
: belong , pertain , consist — used with in
felt that his future lay in teaching
tried with all the strength that lay in him
8. : remain
field lying fallow
machinery lying idle
talent lay hid
especially : to remain unused
unsold goods lying on the shelves
money lying in the bank
or uncared-for
left his tools lying about
dishes lying in the sink
9.
a. now dialect : to be still : subside
near dark, the wind lies — G.S.Perry
b. of wind : to blow from a certain direction
came out to see where the wind lay
10. obsolete : to engage in some occupation or live in a specified way — used with at or about
transitive verb
1. now chiefly dialect : to cause to lie : lay
2. of a ship : to make headway along (as a course)
•
- lie low
II. noun
( -s )
1. : the position or situation in which something lies
lie of a golf ball
lie of a ball in lawn bowling
lie of a stone in curling
lie of fibers in felted pulp
lie of the cards in a bridge deal
2. chiefly Britain : topographical features and situation : slope
lie of the land
3. : the haunt of an animal or a fish : covert
a fine trout lie
4. Britain : an act or instance of lying or resting (as in bed)
I have clearly in mind the coldest lie I have so far met — Thomas Skelton
especially : a period of lying in bed beyond the usual time of arising
why didn't you take a lie in your bed a morning like that — Michael McLaverty
5. : the angle of the blade or clubhead with the shaft of a hockey stick or golf club
III. verb
( lied ; lied ; ly·ing ˈlīiŋ ; lies )
Etymology: Middle English ligen, leyen, lien, from Old English lēogan; akin to Old High German liogan to lie, Old Norse ljūga, Gothic liugan, Old Slavic lŭgati to lie, Lithuanian lūgoti to request
intransitive verb
1. : to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive : tell a lie
man is the only animal … that habitually lies — Leo Stein
2. : to create a false or misleading impression : convey an untruth
unless these figures lie
that thermometer must be lying
transitive verb
: to bring about by lying : affect in a specified way by telling lies
men have been lied out of office
managed to lie himself out of trouble
Synonyms:
lie , prevaricate , equivocate , palter , fib can mean to tell an untruth directly or indirectly. lie is direct and blunt, imputing dishonesty
children sometimes lie to avoid punishment
the camera can cheat and lie with all the success and assurance of a confidence trickster — Richard Harrison
prevaricate is commonly used to evade the insulting bluntness of lie , but also can imply evasion of truth as by quibbling or confusing the issue
he could prevaricate no longer, and, confessing to the gambling, told her the truth — Thomas Hardy
equivocate implies evasion by the use of words or remarks with double meanings in the hope that an incorrect one will be understood
he was wholly in sympathy with Congregationalism, and had no mind to conceal or equivocate concerning its democratic tendencies — V.L.Parrington
or by the use of talk which avoids committing one to anything. palter implies a falseness or unreliability in statements or dealings
if insanity is not to be a defense, let us say so frankly and even brutally, but let us not mock ourselves with a definition that palters with reality — B.N.Cardozo
fib is often used as an innocuous equivalent of lie but more often implies telling a trivial, insignificant, or socially necessary untruth
the government admitted the laboratory, but … may be fibbing patriotically, of course — Time
•
- lie in one's throat
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English lige, leye, lie, from Old English lyge; akin to Old High German lugī lie, Old Norse lygi; derivatives from the root of English lie (III)
1.
a. : an assertion of something known or believed by the speaker to be untrue : a deliberate misrepresenting of fact with intent to deceive
his story was a tissue of lies, evasions, and exaggerations
his decent reticence is branded as hypocrisy, his circumlocutions are roundly called lies — W.S.Maugham
believes … that men have petty larceny forever in their hearts and lies forever in their mouths — Bergen Evans
any printed lie that any notorious villain pens — Charles Dickens
b. : an untrue or inaccurate statement that may or may not be believed true by the speaker
often suspected that history was mostly lies anyway
2. : something that misleads or deceives
his pose of humility was a lie
3. : a charge of lying
threw the lie in his face