to remain in bed late in the morning
to be confined in childbirth
Be in confinement for childbirth, as in She thought she'd be lying in by next week . This usage is probably dying out. The name of Boston's Lying-In Hospital was changed to Women's Hospital in the 1970s. [Mid-1400s]
Also, . Rest or depend on something or someone, as in The solution lies in research , or The decision lies in the President's hands , or It does not lie in my power to turn this situation around . [Mid-1300s] Also see lie in wait ; lie through one's teeth .
First recorded in 1960–65; see origin at lie 2, -in 3
First recorded in 1865–70; noun use of verb phrase lie in
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is a slight lie-in compared to Australia two weeks ago, I suppose.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2024
Equally it could be having a hot bath with a good book, or a lie-in wearing your favourite pyjamas.
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2020
He likes the lie-in, too, because it annoys the wrong people.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2020
Even at their busiest, Suuronen did not employ more than a dozen people and each started work at 10am, thanks to the boss’s fondness for a lie-in.
From The Guardian • Aug. 22, 2018
Chased from our classic souls shall be All thoughts of vulgar progeny; And thou shalt walk through smiling rows Of chubby duodecimos, While I, to match thy products nearly, Shall lie-in of a quarto yearly.
From The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore Collected by Himself with Explanatory Notes by Rossetti, William Michael
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.
