lie-down

[ lahy-doun ]

nounChiefly British.

a nap.

Origin of lie-down

First recorded in 1830–40; noun use of verb phrase lie down

Words Nearby lie-down

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lie-down in a sentence

My doctor insisted that once I filed this piece I lie down on my bed and not get out.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 | Vicky Ward | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
She literally had to lie down in between sessions in order to recover her strength.
Jeopardy! Champion Julia Collins’s Brain Feels Like Mush | Sujay Kumar | November 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In her semifinal match, he joked “Now you can get to lie down for a while” in the post-game chat.
Jeopardy! Champion Julia Collins’s Brain Feels Like Mush | Sujay Kumar | November 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Lie Down with Lions (1985) gave a shoutout to gays in a laundry list of human rights to worry about.
Popular Novelist Ken Follett Is a Slightly Unlikely and Certainly Unsung Gay Icon | William O’Connor | October 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They encountered two genuinely tough Brooklyn gunmen in the lobby who ordered them to lie down.
Tupac and Murray Kempton: The Godfather Who Wore Tweed | Michael Daly | June 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

The hut was barely high enough to let him sit up, and long enough to let him lie down—not to stretch out.
The Giant of the North | R.M. Ballantyne
He ate as many as he wanted and then, as he always felt sleepy after he had eaten, he thought he would lie down and have a nap.
Squinty the Comical Pig | Richard Barnum
After dinner, retire for an hour to your own room, that your hostess may lie down if she is accustomed to do so.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence Hartley
The question between the Girondist and the Jacobin was, "Who shall lie down on the guillotine?"
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. Abbott
And say: Why did thy mother the lioness lie down among the lions, and bring up her whelps in the midst of young lions?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various

British Dictionary definitions for lie down

lie down

verb(intr, adverb)

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)

nounlie-down

a rest

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with lie-down

lie-down

Also, lie down on the job. Be remiss or lazy. For example, They fired Max because he was always lying down on the job. This expression alludes to lying down in the sense of “resting.” [Early 1900s]

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