lie-down
noun
a nap.
lie-down
American
[lahy-doun]
/ ˈlaɪˌdaʊn /
noun
Chiefly British.
-
lie-downs
plural
lie down
British
verb
-
to place oneself or be in a prostrate position in order to rest or sleep
-
to accept without protest or opposition (esp in the phrases lie down under, take something lying down )
noun
lie down
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lie-down
First recorded in 1830–40; noun use of verb phrase lie down
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:
Cusi’s mom endorsed a lie-down whenever one had been on their feet too long, or the world had become too much.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2024
Soup leads helpfully to an afternoon lie-down or an early bed, both of which seem like better ideas now than ever before.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2021
When she went upstairs to have a lie-down, it wasn't long before she was woken up by the huge racket coming from downstairs.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2020
Disappearing through the curtain into a video booth, hours might pass until I re-emerge, wild-haired and gawping, or refreshed after a nice lie-down.
From The Guardian ● May 7, 2020
Those who have not the price—and God knows they are many—homeless and weary, "about ready to die," sleep in hallways, empty trucks, any place for a lie-down.
From Dave Ranney by Dave Ranney
“What is that?” he said, holding a corner of the comforter aloft, staring intently at something located where he had been about to lie down.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
"Our family would lie down and look at various places on the Moon that he would identify based on his mapping and his study guides," she said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
Unlike the Las Vegas Sphere, he stresses, visitors are generally free to walk around – or even lie down and look straight up – at the presentation.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
Mercurial and unreliable in the studio, Stewart would sometimes fall asleep on the couch during recording sessions or lie down in the vocal booth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
“We’re each going to lie on our own tree. You lie down on yours and I’ll lie on mine and we’ll hold tight. The trees will be our boats, if the water gets too high.”
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
From sit-ins at the school board headquarters, demonstrators went on to lie-downs in front of "Willis Wagons," mobile classrooms that are sent into neighborhoods with crowded schools.
From Time Magazine Archive
Primarily, it is the business faculty that is developed in all lie-downs of Australian life.
From The Awful Australian by Valerie Desmond
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.
