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Synonyms

lay person

British  

noun

  1. a person who is not a member of the clergy

  2. a person who does not have specialized or professional knowledge of a subject

    a lay person's guide to conveyancing
"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

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.

"These forms are really difficult to navigate as a lawyer, so for a lay person I can see how it would be quite terrifying," she added.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2025

These publications are written so a lay person can understand them with ease.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 16, 2023

Likewise, it's obviously impossible for a lay person to know visually whether their local roach population is glucose-averse or not.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2022

"I also express my pain and shock over the killing in Mexico the day before yesterday of two religious brothers of mine, Jesuits, and one lay person," Francis said.

From Reuters • Jun. 22, 2022

It declared that no emperor, king, duke, marquis, count, or any other lay person should presume to grant investiture, under pain of excommunication.

From Early European History by Webster, Hutton

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.