lie-in
1 Americannoun
noun
verb
-
to remain in bed late in the morning
-
to be confined in childbirth
noun
-
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 .
Etymology
Origin of lie-in1
First recorded in 1960–65; lie 2, -in 3
Origin of lie-in2
First recorded in 1865–70; noun use of verb phrase lie in
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.
This is a slight lie-in compared to Australia two weeks ago, I suppose.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2024
Mr Livingstone says the pandas are usually a bit lazy and like a lie-in in the morning so he has been gradually bringing forward their wake-up time to get them used to earlier starts.
From BBC • Dec. 4, 2023
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
Captain M'Lean's house being in some confusion, on account of Mrs M'Lean being expected to lie-in, we resolved to go to Mr M'Sweyn's, where we arrived very wet, fatigued, and hungry.
From The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. by Boswell, James
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.