overlie

[ oh-ver-lahy ]
See synonyms for overlie on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),o·ver·lay [oh-ver-ley], /ˌoʊ vərˈleɪ/, o·ver·lain [oh-ver-leyn], /ˌoʊ vərˈleɪn/, o·ver·ly·ing.
  1. to lie over or upon, as a covering or stratum.

  2. to smother (an infant) by lying on them, as in sleep.

Origin of overlie

1
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English overlien, overliggen; see over-, lie2

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use overlie in a sentence

  • There the quantity of barren overlying rock and earth is enormous, and detracts immensely from the value of the mines.

    Asbestos | Robert H. Jones
  • Their geological formation is granite, with gneiss and mica slate, with clay slate, hornblende and primitive limestone overlying.

  • Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.

    Great Expectations | Charles Dickens
  • Her ugly old face flushed through the overlying paint and powder.

    A German Pompadour | Marie Hay
  • How does unconformability prove a lapse of time between the accumulation of the underlying and overlying strata?

    Geology | James Geikie

British Dictionary definitions for overlie

overlie

/ (ˌəʊvəˈlaɪ) /


verb-lies, -lying, -lay or -lain (tr)
  1. to lie or rest upon: Compare overlay

  2. to kill (a baby or newborn animal) by lying upon it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012