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

Ownership of the Grinch’s likeness is guarded as jealously as the villain protects his lair: Dr. Seuss Enterprises holds the rights to the children’s book, Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times

A Demogorgon drags an unconscious Will to Vecna’s lair, and Vecna ominously says they can begin their work “at long last.”

From Los Angeles Times

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

Mancuso is first glimpsed in the second episode in his lair deep in the basement of a Russian bath house.

From Los Angeles Times

Osbourne invited everyone into his dark lair — and was grateful to his very last day for the community.

From Salon

Related Words

• hideaway