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lain

American  
[leyn] / 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:

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

The tenements at Clune Park in the Inverclyde town of Port Glasgow were built a century ago as housing for shipyard workers but have lain mostly abandoned for years.

From BBC Apr. 10, 2025

St. Nicholas’ body had lain under the floor of their church for 700 years.

From Slate Dec. 15, 2024

With no new shipments coming in, people bought up everything we had in stock, even the winkeldochters, the “shop-daughters,” merchandise that had lain around so long it seemed part of the furniture.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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