Definition of lay

• imp. - of Lie, to recline.
• a. - Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
• a. - Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.
• a. - Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.
• n. - The laity; the common people.
• n. - A meadow. See Lea.
• n. - Faith; creed; religious profession.
• n. - A law.
• n. - An obligation; a vow.
• a. - A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad.
• a. - A melody; any musical utterance.
• v. t. - To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust.
• v. t. - To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table.
• v. t. - To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
• v. t. - To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
• v. t. - To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.
• v. t. - To cause to lie dead or dying.
• v. t. - To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
• v. t. - To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
• v. t. - To apply; to put.
• v. t. - To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
• v. t. - To impute; to charge; to allege.
• v. t. - To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.
• v. t. - To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
• v. t. - To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue.
• v. t. - To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
• v. t. - To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope.
• v. t. - To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.
• v. t. - To place (new type) properly in the cases.
• v. i. - To produce and deposit eggs.
• v. i. - To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.
• v. i. - To lay a wager; to bet.
• n. - That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as, a lay of stone or wood.
• v. t. - A wager.
• v. t. - A job, price, or profit.
• v. t. - A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay.
• v. t. - A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a).
• v. t. - The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3.
• v. t. - A plan; a scheme.
• imp. - of Lie