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:
Perhaps because the term is so plainly descriptive, I’ve always seen a lie-down as something necessary and sensible, rather than indulgent or lazy.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2024
The Cardinals took their own wide-body jet, complete with 28 lie-down seats, to a game for the first time and might’ve gotten too comfortable on the way to the Motor City.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 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
Today I thought I’d just take a lie-down, and drift.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 25, 2019
"May we see the horses, Mike—are they having their lie-down, or anything?"
From Thoroughbreds by William Alexander Fraser
“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
“So then they asked me to walk down this beach, and every 10 minutes you’d hear ‘Rolling!’ and I’d have to lie down and hide behind these dunes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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
I thought about this, and then I had to lie down on a park bench.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
Rosa led her into the house and made her lie down on the big bed across from Jesus.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
