- (slang, offensive) a partner in sex
- to be a great lay
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- (old use) a poem that was written to be sung, usually telling a story
Word Originverb Old English lecgan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch leggen and German legen, also to lie.
Idioms
See lay in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarythe lay of the land (North American English)
(British English the lie of the land)
- the way the land in an area is formed and what physical characteristics it has
- The castle was hidden by the lay of the land.
- the way a situation is now and how it is likely to develop
- Check out the lay of the land before you make a decision.
Check pronunciation:
lay