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lain

American  
[layn] / leɪn /

verb

  1. past participle of lie.


lain British  
/ leɪn /

verb

  1. the past participle of lie 2

"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

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Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

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

Without Fiver’s encouragement he would have lain down once more and given up.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

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