laid up

Idioms  

1. Also, sick in bed . Ill and confined to bed, as in I was laid up for a week with the flu , or Sally can't come outside; she's sick in bed . [Mid-1500s]

2. Put in a safe place, as in The ship was laid up in dock with engine trouble , or The hikers were laid up in a cave during the storm . [Mid-1600s] Also see under lay in ; lay someone low .

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Example Sentences

Insurance companies don’t pay primary-care doctors to see patients in hospital; doctors might not know if a patient is laid up with a broken hip or beginning cancer treatment.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

"I don't know what to say, man, I've been laid up for like six years...thank you from the bottom of my heart," he told the crowd.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2025

The reason that it matters that many of us will be laid up with the regular old seasonal flu is something called co-infection.

From Slate • Dec. 31, 2024

“I’ll likely get my surgery in late September, be laid up for a month, and — God willing — be cancer-free and back at it by the end of October,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 22, 2024

But that morning, the minister dropped by the hospital unannounced as if he were visiting an old friend who was laid up for a few days.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela