Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

lay open

Idioms  

  1. Expose; also, make vulnerable to. For example, The audit laid open some suspicious dealings, or She had not laid herself open to any charge of wrongdoing. The first usage dates from the mid-1500s, the second from the mid-1800s. Also see leave open.

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.

See Examples For:

A single suitcase lay open on the floor when AFP visited Ren's temporary residence in Beihai.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

His hard-shell suitcase lay open on the bed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2023

When it finally lay open on the table, I couldn’t help but gawk in wonder at my iPhone 13 Mini’s precisely packed guts, and I realized I was having fun!

From The Verge ● May 21, 2022

A Bible lay open to Proverbs on a dresser as a breeze turned the pages.

From Fox News ● May 28, 2019

“Why have you kept away from me, Robert?” she asked, closing the book that lay open upon the table.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

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.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training