lying
1 Americannoun
adjective
verb
verb
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lying
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; see origin at lie 1, -ing 1, -ing 2
Explanation
If you engage in lying, you're fabricating, prevaricating, or speaking falsely. You are deliberately deviating from the truth. If lying is the act of telling a lie, then "lying through your teeth" is the act of telling a bold lie, even if you know your listener will immediately know you're lying. Descended from a line in a Marx Brothers film, "Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?" is spoken (ironically) by someone who's been caught lying and, instead of admitting it, says the evidence is wrong, as well as the person who's looking right at it.
Vocabulary lists containing lying
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lying under the MRI scanner and having my brain scanned brought nerves I was not expecting.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026
Lying low and hoping he forgets about you is not going to work.
From Salon • Jan. 28, 2026
Lying on my bed, receiver to ear, playing with the coiled cord, I feel like a teenager.
From Slate • Jan. 27, 2026
Lying on a rug, David Muhire arduously lifted his thigh as a carer in a white uniform placed weights on it to increase the effort and work the muscles.
From Barron's • Dec. 21, 2025
“I want you to go straight home. You need to think about what happened here today. Do not try to get together to change your story. Lying will only make things worse.”
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
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.
