a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth.
something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture.
His flashy car was a lie that deceived no one.
an inaccurate or untrue statement; falsehood.
When I went to school, history books were full of lies, and I won't teach lies to kids.
the charge or accusation of telling a lie.
He flung the lie back at his accusers.
to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive.
to express what is false; convey a false impression.
give the lie to,
to accuse of lying; contradict.
to prove or imply the falsity of; belie.
His poor work gives the lie to his claims of experience.
lie in one's throat / teeth, to lie grossly or maliciously: Also lie through one's teeth.
If she told you exactly the opposite of what she told me, she must be lying in her teeth.
to be in a horizontal, recumbent, or prostrate position, as on a bed or the ground; recline.
(of objects) to rest in a horizontal or flat position.
The book lies on the table.
to be or remain in a position or state of inactivity, subjection, restraint, concealment, etc..
to lie in ambush.
to rest, press, or weigh (usually followed by on orupon ).
These things lie upon my mind.
to depend (usually followed by on orupon ).
to be placed or situated.
land lying along the coast.
to be stretched out or extended.
the broad plain that lies before us.
to be in or have a specified direction; extend.
The trail from here lies to the west.
to be found or located in a particular area or place.
The fault lies here.
to consist or be grounded (usually followed byin ).
The real remedy lies in education.
to be buried in a particular spot.
Their ancestors lie in the family plot.
Law. to be sustainable or admissible, as an action or appeal.
Archaic. to lodge; stay the night; sojourn.
lie in
to be confined to bed in childbirth.
Chiefly British. to stay in bed longer than usual, especially in the morning.
lie with
to be the duty or function of.
The decision in this matter lies with him.
Archaic. to have sexual intercourse with.
lie up
to lie at rest; stay in bed.
(of a ship) to dock or remain in dock.
lie over to be postponed for attention or action at some future time.
The other business on the agenda will have to lie over until the next meeting.
lie down to assume a horizontal or prostrate position, as for the purpose of resting.
lie by
to pause for rest; stop activities, work, etc., temporarily.
to lie unused.
Ever since the last member of the family died, the old house has lain by.
take lying down, to hear or yield without protest, contradiction, or resistance.
I refuse to take such an insult lying down.
lie to, (of a ship) to lie comparatively stationary, usually with the head as near the wind as possible.
lie in state. state.
lie low. low.
lie down on the job, to do less than one could or should do; shirk one's obligations.
I don't know why they haven't fired that guy—he's always lying down on the job.
Jonas, 1880–1940, U.S. painter, born in Norway.
(Marius) Sophus 1842–99, Norwegian mathematician.
Trygve Halvdan 1896–1968, Norwegian statesman: secretary-general of the United Nations 1946–53.
(often foll by down) to place oneself or be in a prostrate position, horizontal to the ground
to be situated, esp on a horizontal surface
the pencil is lying on the desk
India lies to the south of Russia
to be buried
here lies Jane Brown
(copula) to be and remain (in a particular state or condition)
to lie dormant
to stretch or extend
the city lies before us
to rest or weigh
my sins lie heavily on my mind
(usually foll by in) to exist or consist inherently
strength lies in unity
(foll by with)
to be or rest (with)
the ultimate decision lies with you
archaic to have sexual intercourse (with)
(of an action, claim, appeal, etc) to subsist; be maintainable or admissible
archaic to stay temporarily
See state
to keep or be concealed or quiet
to wait for a favourable opportunity
the manner, place, or style in which something is situated
the hiding place or lair of an animal
golf
the position of the ball after a shot
a bad lie
the angle made by the shaft of the club before the upswing
the topography of the land
the way in which a situation is developing or people are behaving
(intr) to speak untruthfully with intent to mislead or deceive
(intr) to convey a false impression or practise deception
the camera does not lie
an untrue or deceptive statement deliberately used to mislead
something that is deliberately intended to deceive
to disprove
to accuse of lying
What's the difference between lie and lay? The sense of lie that’s often confused with lay means to be in or get into a reclining position—to recline, as in I just want to lie in bed for a few more minutes. Lay commonly means to put or place someone or something down, as in Lay the bags on the table or I’m going to lay the baby in the crib. Though it’s considered nonstandard, lay is commonly used to mean the same thing as this sense of lie, as in I just want to lay in bed for a few more minutes. The confusion between the two words is largely due to the fact that lay is also the past tense form of this sense of lie, as in I lay in bed yesterday morning wishing I could go back to sleep. The other tenses of this sense of lie are lain, as in I have lain in bed for the past three hours, and lying, as in I am lying in bed right now. (In contrast, when lie is used as a verb meaning to tell an untruth, its past tense is simply lied.)The other tenses of lay are laid, as in I laid the bags on the table, and laying, as in Start laying the fruit here and the vegetables there. Lay is typically used with an object, meaning someone or something is getting laid down by someone. In contrast, lie is something you do yourself without any other recipients of the action. This sense of lie is commonly used in the verb phrase lie down, as in I was feeling tired so I decided to lie down. Using the phrase lay down to mean the same thing is considered nonstandard, but it’s also very common. Lay down is also used as a verb phrase meaning about the same thing as lay, as in You can lay down your bags on the table (or You can lay your bags down on the table). Although lay and lie are often used interchangeably in casual communication, it’s best to use them in the standard way in more formal contexts. A good way to remember which one to use is to think about whether you could replace the word with put or recline. If you can replace it with put, you probably want to use lay, as in Please lay (put) the bags on the table. If you could replace the word with recline, you probably want to use lie, as in I just want to lie (recline) in bed for a few more minutes. Here’s an example of lay and lie used correctly in the same sentence. Example: He said he was just going to lay the blanket on the grass and lie on it for a few minutes, but he lied. After he laid the blanket down, he lay on it for two hours!Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between lie and lay.
See lay 1.
See falsehood.
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English leye, lighe; Old English lyge, lige; cognate with German Lüge, Old Norse lygi; akin to Gothic liugn; (verb) Middle English lien, ligen, leie, Old English lēogan (intransitive); cognate with German lügen, Old Norse ljūga, Gothic liugan
First recorded before 900; Middle English lien, liggen, Old English licgan; cognate with German liegen, Dutch liggen, Old Norse liggja, Gothic ligan; akin to Greek léchesthai “to lie down”
When you don't tell the truth, you lie. You also lie down when you're sleepy and wonder what lies ahead of you. If we leave aside the lie that is an untruth, most meanings of lie are related. If something lies ahead of us, then it's there, down the road, waiting for us. If mountains lie to the east, we can think of them as having settled down there. If something lies unused, it is just sort of left to lie on the shelf (or wherever). If you let a sleeping dog lie, you're just letting him be right where he is — in the same position.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, visiting the fire zone west of Madrid, warned that "difficult hours lie ahead" even if they were "positive" indications towards containing the blaze.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
"So there's welcome opportunities to advance discussions about where powers should lie within our country and that's what we've agreed to take forward."
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
I was expecting to make a couple hundred thousand off this World Cup, I’m not gonna lie, but I didn’t so I was like “OK. That kind of sucks.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
But what happens when the very existence of your twin is a lie?
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Swallowing hard, I went on with my lie.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
It’s this British game show called “Would I Lie to You?” and unfailingly it makes me laugh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Popular series covered by the agreements include Vanity Fair's "Lie Detector," BuzzFeed's "30 Questions" and Variety's "Know Their Lines?"
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
Other backward glances include “As You Lie There,” a fantasy about a teenage crush that never blossomed into a romance, and “Salesman Saint,” a paean to Mr. McCartney’s parents’ coping with life in postwar Liverpool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” begins with “As You Lie There,” his fond remembrances about a schoolboy crush.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
“There is nothing to be upset about. Lie down. We will come back.”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
He’s now buried right next to a baby girl who died at 4 months and had, until his burial, lain in the cemetery alone without anyone by her side.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026
Starmer will arrive with an entourage of industry executives hoping to promote British business through a UK-China CEO Council, a body that has lain dormant for years.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
Someone close to us had died along the shoulder of a highway and had lain unnamed for more than 40 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
A rich copper belt in the north of the country has lain fallow since Macri crashed and burned in 2018.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025
The electric clock on the wall had whirred, for a very long time, and Kingshaw had just lain there.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
Paramount’s internal teams and Warner Bros. have been diligently working to lay the groundwork for the two rival companies to integrate their operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
“For example, if you know the correct moon cycle to go fishing on, lay your nets on the right tide, at the right place, you will have a higher success rate.”
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
After Murphy's guilty plea, Jason began to meet politicians to "lay down the proposals of what could be done to make these things better in the future".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Near the base of a column atop which Saint Simeon Stylites once perched, scattered stones lay bare the damage inflicted on the surrounding Byzantine monastery in northern Syria by war, looting and rampant illegal excavations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
At last the attack passed and I lay down.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
As part of that scheme, they alleged, Goldstein also shaved millions off his true law firm income and lied to lenders about his debts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
She said when she confronted Griffiths he initially denied everything before admitting he had lied because he had never felt good enough.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The investigation, opened by Justice Department prosecutors, seeks to determine if Carroll lied under oath during several depositions against Trump, CNN and The New York Times reported.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Here, though, we learn something important: Penelope never lied to him.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
Not as someone who repeatedly lied to your face.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
"I work close to the Legacy premises... and drive past it every day. Knowing now that mum was lying inside for almost eight months destroys me," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Prosecutors said the gardener entered the house via the open front door on 9 July, and found Widdecombe lying face down on her kitchen floor with a serious head injury.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Former Federal Reserve official John Rogers was sentenced to 38 months in prison for lying to investigators about sharing restricted information.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
But ICE has provided no proof, and in Araujo’s case, eyewitnesses say the agency is lying about what happened.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Moments later, Karli was lying there limp on the ice.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
