lair

¹ American  

[lair] / lɛər /

noun

1. a den or resting place of a wild animal.

   The cougar retired to its lair.

2. a secluded or hidden place, especially a secret retreat or base of operations; a hideout or hideaway.

   a pirate's lair.

3. British. a place in which to lie or rest; a bed.

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verb (used with object)

1. to place in a lair.

2. to serve as a lair for.

verb (used without object)

1. to go to, lie in, or have a lair.

lair ² American  

[lair] / lɛər /

noun

1. British Dialect. mud; mire.

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verb (used without object)

1. Scot. to sink or stick in mud or mire.

lair ³ American  

[lair] / lɛər /

noun

Chiefly Scot.

1. lore; learning.

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lair ⁴ American  

[lair] / lɛər /

noun

Australian Informal.

1. a man who dresses garishly and is crude or vulgar; show-off.

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lair ¹ British  

/ lɛə /

noun

1. the resting place of a wild animal

2. informal a place of seclusion or hiding

3. an enclosure or shed for farm animals

4. the ground for a grave in a cemetery

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verb

1. (intr) (esp of a wild animal) to retreat to or rest in a lair

2. (tr) to drive or place (an animal) in a lair

lair ² British  

/ lɛə /

noun

1. a flashy man who shows off

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verb

1. (intr; foll by up or around) to behave or dress like a lair

lair ³ British  

/ ler /

noun

1. a Scot word for mire

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Etymology

Origin of lair¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English leir(e), lair, lare, Old English leger; cognate with Dutch, Old High German leger “bed, camp,” Afrkaans laager “defensive circle of wagons,” German Lager “storehouse”; akin to lie ²

Origin of lair²

First recorded in 1300–50; verb use of Middle English lair “clay, mire,” from Old Norse leir ”clay, mud”

Origin of lair³

Middle English lōre, laire (north and Scots lare, lere ), Old English lār “teaching, instruction”; lore ¹

Origin of lair⁴

First recorded in 1930–35; back formation from lairy

Example Sentences

"The suction boots which appear in his first book, The Gremlins, and his last book, Billy and the Minpins, also make an appearance when Sean Connery's Bond is descending into Blofeld's volcano lair," he said.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025

That excludes costs for the large Lego mosaic she commissioned for outside the basement room that’s become her Lego lair.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

Yes, my audience giggled dutifully at the jiggling Jell-O salads and drooled over the groovy conversation pits in the Richards’ living room, the only super lair I’d ever live in.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2025

He’s retreated to his lair and he is letting his lawyers do all of the dirty work.

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2025

That night Despereaux rolled the thread from the threadmaster’s lair, along innumerable hallways and down three flights of stairs.

From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo

Related Words

• hideaway