Tra từ lay - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

lay [lay lays laid laying] verb, adjective, noun BrE [leɪ] NAmE [leɪ]
see also ↑lie _v.
verb (laid, laidBrE [leɪd] ; NAmE [leɪd] )

PUT DOWN/SPREAD
1. transitive to put sb/sth in a particular position, especially when it is done gently or carefully
•~ sb/sth (+ adv./prep.) She laid the baby down gently on the bed.
• He laid a hand on my arm.
•The horse laid back its ears.
•Relatives laid wreaths on the grave.
•~ sb/sth + adj. The cloth should be laid flat. Some speakers confuse this sense of lay with lie, especially in the present and progressive tenses. However, lay has an object and lie does not
•She was lying on the beach.
•She was laying on the beach.
•Why don't you lie on the bed?
•Why don't you lay on the bed? In the past tenses laid (from
•lay) is often wrongly used for lay or lain (from
•lie)
•She had lain there all night.
•She had laid there all night.
2. transitive ~ sth (down) to put sth down, especially on the floor, ready to be used
•to lay a carpet/cable/pipe
• The foundations of the house are being laid today.
• (figurative) They had laid the groundwork for future development.
3. transitive to spread sth on sth; to cover sth with a layer of sth
•~ A (on/over B) Before they started they laid newspaper on the floor.
• The grapes were laid to dry on racks.
•~ B with A The floor was laid with newspaper.

EGGS
4. transitive, intransitive ~ (sth) if a bird, an insect, a fish, etc. lays eggs, it produces them from its body
• The cuckoo lays its eggs in other birds' nests.
•new-laid eggs
• The hens are not laying well (= not producing many eggs).

TABLE
5. transitive ~ sth (BrE)to arrange knives, forks, plates, etc. on a table ready for a meal
Syn: ↑set
•to lay the table

PRESENT PROPOSAL
6. transitive ~ sth + adv./prep. to present a proposal, some information, etc. to sb for them to think about and decide on
•The bill was laid before Parliament.

DIFFICULT SITUATION
7. transitive ~ sth + adv./prep. (formal)to put sb/sth in a particular position or state, especially a difficult or unpleasant one
Syn: ↑place
•to lay a responsibility/burden on sb
•to lay sb under an obligation to do sth

WITH NOUNS
8. transitive ~ sth + adv./prep. used with a noun to form a phrase that has the same meaning as the verb related to the noun
•to lay the blame on sb (= to blame sb)
•Our teacher lays great stress on good spelling (= stresses it strongly).

PLAN/TRAP
9. transitive ~ sth to prepare sth in detail
•to lay a trap for sb
•She began to lay her plans for her escape.
•Bad weather can upset even the best-laid plans.

HAVE SEX
10. transitive, often passive ~ sb (slang)to have sex with sb
•He went out hoping to get laid that night.

FIRE
11. transitive ~ sth to prepare a fire by arranging wood, sticks or coal

BET
12. transitive to bet money on sth; to place a bet
•~ sth to lay a bet
•~ sth on sth She had laid $100 on the favourite.
•I think he'll come, but I wouldn't lay money on it.
•~ (sb) sth (that)… I'll lay you any money you like (that) he won't come. This pattern is not used in the passive.
Rem: Idioms containing lay are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example lay sth bare is at bare.
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
v. and n. sense 1 and Old English lecgan Germanic Dutch leggen German legen ↑lieadj. Middle English Old French lai late Latin Greek laïkos laos ‘people’ n. sense 2 Middle English Old French lai Provençal lais

Example Bank:
•He laid the books down on the table.
•He laid the clothes neatly on his bed.
•She laid the child tenderly on the bed.
•The information is there; it just isn't laid out clearly.
•The owners have a tastefully laid out garden.
•The owners have built a gift shop and a tastefully laid out caravan site.
•They carefully laid a blanket over the body.
•With a resigned sigh she laid aside her book.
•Failing to act now will merely lay the burden on future generations.
•He laid stress on the importance of cooperation.
•Little did he know they had laid a trap for him.
•She laid the blame for the crisis at the Prime Minister's door.
Idiom: ↑lay of the land
Derived: ↑lay about somebody ▪ ↑lay about you ▪ ↑lay into somebody ▪ ↑lay off ▪ ↑lay off somebody ▪ ↑lay off something ▪ ↑lay over ▪ ↑lay somebody off ▪ ↑lay somebody out ▪ ↑lay somebody up ▪ ↑lay something aside ▪ ↑lay something down ▪ ↑lay something in ▪ ↑lay something on ▪ ↑lay something on somebody ▪ ↑lay something out ▪ ↑lay something up

adjective only before noun
1. not having expert knowledge or professional qualifications in a particular subject
•His book explains the theory for the lay public.
2. not in an official position in the Church
•a lay preacher
see also ↑layman, ↑layperson, ↑laywoman

Word Origin:
v. and n. sense 1 and Old English lecgan Germanic Dutch leggen German legen ↑lieadj. Middle English Old French lai late Latin Greek laïkos laos ‘people’ n. sense 2 Middle English Old French lai Provençal lais

noun
1. (taboo, informal)a partner in sex, especially a woman
•an easy lay (= a person who is ready and willing to have sex)
•to be a great lay
2. (old use)a poem that was written to be sung, usually telling a story

Word Origin:
v. and n. sense 1 and Old English lecgan Germanic Dutch leggen German legen ↑lieadj. Middle English Old French lai late Latin Greek laïkos laos ‘people’ n. sense 2 Middle English Old French lai Provençal lais

Thesaurus:
lay noun
1. T (usually used with an adverb or preposition)
•He laid a hand on my arm.
place • • put • • set • • position •
lay/place/put/set/position sth on sth
lay/put/set sth down
lay/place/put sth carefully
Lay or place? Lay is more gentle and place is more deliberate. You place things but not people; you can lay things or people:
•A bomb was placed under the seat.
✗ A bomb was laid under the seat.:
•She laid the baby on the bed.
✗ She placed the baby on the bed.
2. T (usually used with an adverb or preposition)
•He laid newspaper on the floor.
spread • • lay sth out •
lay/spread/lay out sth on sth
lay/spread sth over sth

See also: ↑lay something by ▪ ↑lie of the land