layer
Americannoun
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layers
plural
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a thickness of some material laid on or spread over a surface.
a layer of soot on the windowsill; two layers of paint.
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something lying over or under something else; a level or tier.
There can be multiple layers of metaphor in a single poem.
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a bed; stratum.
alternating layers of basalt and sandstone.
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a person or thing that lays (often used in combination): a bricklayer.
a carpet layer;
a bricklayer.
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a hen kept for egg production.
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one of several items of clothing worn one on top of the other.
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Horticulture.
-
a shoot or twig that is induced to root while still attached to the living stock, as by bending and covering with soil.
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a plant so propagated.
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Ropemaking. a machine for laying rope or cable.
verb (used with object)
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layers,
present (3rd person singular)
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layered,
past participle, past
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layering
present participle
-
to make a layer of.
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to form or arrange in layers.
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to arrange or wear (clothing) in layers.
You can layer this vest over a blouse or sweater.
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to cut (hair) in overlapping layers of different lengths.
My hairdresser insisted on layering my hair at my last visit—I rather like it this way.
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Horticulture. to propagate by layering.
verb (used without object)
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layers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
layered,
past participle, past
-
layering
present participle
-
to separate into or form layers.
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(of a garment) to permit of wearing in layers; be used in layering.
Frilly blouses don't layer well.
noun
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a thickness of some homogeneous substance, such as a stratum or a coating on a surface
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one of four or more levels of vegetation defined in ecological studies: the ground or moss layer, the field or herb layer, the shrub layer, and one or more tree layers
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a laying hen
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horticulture
-
a shoot or branch rooted during layering
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a plant produced as a result of layering
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verb
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to form or make a layer of (something)
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to take root or cause to take root by layering
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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layersimple
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layerssimple
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have layeredperfect
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has layeredperfect
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am layeringprogressive
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are layeringprogressive
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is layeringprogressive
-
have been layeringperfect progressive
-
has been layeringperfect progressive
Past
-
layeredsimple
-
had layeredperfect
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was layeringprogressive
-
were layeringprogressive
-
had been layeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of layer
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English leyer, legger; see origin at lay 1, -er 1
Explanation
The noun layer describes a thin piece that's stacked on other thin pieces, like a layer of noodles in a lasagna dish. You can also apply a layer of paint to make your wall color more vivid. Layer can also be used figuratively to describe an abstract thickness or barrier. Celebrities are known to surround themselves with managers, agents, stylists, and friends — forming a layer between them and the prying public. Layer can also be a verb. You can layer your bed with blankets on a cold night, as a layer of ice forms on the sidewalks and streets outside.
Vocabulary lists containing layer
"Volcano!"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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The Mark of Athena
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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:
“Now we’re throwing in another layer of complexity and oddity,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at car-shopping site Edmunds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
"It's like layer upon layer of layer of miracles" that they found two men on Friday, he said, given that the multiple challenges they faced.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The National Weather Service’s Bay Area office said in its Tuesday afternoon forecast that it expected cooler than average temperatures and a deepening marine layer to result in “improved overnight humidity recoveries through Friday.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Because glucose supplies some of the raw material needed to produce glycoconjugates, the team suspected that changes in glucose metabolism or hyperglycemia might alter how this protective layer is assembled.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Not only did he seem to be able to grow facial hair overnight, but a generous layer of black hair covered his arms and legs.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
He said he had been using a microscope to analyse the cuticles, and different layers of the bear's fur as well as its DNA.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
The fires are difficult to extinguish because many occurred on peatlands, a wetland ecosystem with layers of partially decomposed organic materials that become flammable when dry.
From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026
Coral can live for decades or centuries, and they form a skeleton of calcium carbonate layers as they grow, kind of like rings on a tree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Because the two layers sit so closely together, magnetic behavior from the CGT influences the normally nonmagnetic TaIrTe4.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Dad arrived with my grandmother, who started shedding layers as soon as she stepped into our overheated house.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
And as Madame Defarge , who will become the symbol of the revolution’s bloodthirsty overreach, Duran is splendid; she’s a monster, finally, but layered and human.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
In reality, they are densely packed, layered communities built by microbes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Minsal, a desert-loving, kilt-wearing muralist of Mexican-Scottish descent, painted a layered picture of social pressure and government neglect that have turned his childhood paradise into what he calls an ecological disaster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The 10% tariff was layered on top of those heavily litigated duty rates, which are based on prior years’ sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
She layered blue ticking triangles in a stack.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
They are further distinguished by their meticulous topographical, biological and marine detail and precise layering of colors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
We’ll have a discussion with our staff when we do the recording, and to bring out the “Neo-ness” in the song, I think we just achieve this by just layering our voices together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Quijada and Robinson invite us into the process of making their musical, constructing the show’s soundscape and musical score in real time by recording musical phrases into a looping station and layering in sound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
From the scaffolding, restorers have been meticulously filling in damaged portions of the frescoes and conservatively layering paint over bare sections with delicate brushes, their hands protected by gloves.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
This was a really major breakthrough: layering two lines of voices singing at the same time, but singing slightly different notes.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
