waylay
Americanverb (used with object)
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to intercept or attack from ambush, as in order to rob, seize, or slay.
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to await and accost unexpectedly.
The actor was waylaid by a swarm of admirers.
verb
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to lie in wait for and attack
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to await and intercept unexpectedly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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waylaysimple
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waylayssimple
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have waylaidperfect
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has waylaidperfect
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am waylayingprogressive
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are waylayingprogressive
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is waylayingprogressive
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have been waylayingperfect progressive
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has been waylayingperfect progressive
Past
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waylaidsimple
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had waylaidperfect
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was waylayingprogressive
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were waylayingprogressive
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had been waylayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of waylay
First recorded in 1505–15; way 1 + lay 1, after Middle Low German, Middle Dutch wegelagen “to lie in wait,” derivative of wegelage “a lying in wait”
Explanation
When you waylay someone, you stop them from doing what they were going to do, either by using violence or some other tactic. To waylay, or to be waylaid, is usually not a good thing: Mom would not be proud. Robbers waylay their victims. Outlaws waylaid stagecoaches in the Old West. The verb's origin, from wegelage, means "lying in wait, with evil or hostile intent." You might also use waylay to show someone being interrupted from finishing the task at hand: "I should’ve been studying, but was waylaid by my friend's invitation to go bungee jumping."
Vocabulary lists containing waylay
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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:
Most projects take years to complete, hindered by the pendulum swings of available money, so Brewster tempers her frustration at having to waylay them mid-planning until she can find enough cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Those carriers argue that additional long-distance flights at Reagan National would cause passenger delays and might even waylay the F.A.A.’s reauthorization.
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2023
But SNAs, at only billionths of a meter across, seem able to travel anywhere in the body and get inside cells before immune defenses can waylay them.
From Nature ● Dec. 3, 2019
Your duties may involve delivering checks to vendors, organizing groomsmen to waylay belligerent uncles, and stopping the Electric Slide before it starts.
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2013
What he felt was the chilly recklessness that had come to waylay his heart.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
But unlike in the past, Byrne’s new movie never waylays you with a surprise narrative wrinkle or unexpected thematic depth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
He follows aging pesh merga on their former patrols and waylays Christian and Yazidi pilgrims.
From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2022
But if anything waylays Dany, I doubt it will be a pretty boy.
From Slate ● May 20, 2013
Which waylays his own quest for redemption as he's forced to face his victims.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2011
So she waylays each bin with a single gloved hand.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
National Aeronautics and Space Administration leaders said the agency disregarded crew safety by pushing ahead with the failed Starliner mission in 2024, which waylaid astronauts for months at the International Space Station.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
The Ukrainians descended the steps, to be met with a low-key American greeting, and with their optimism, like a piece of waylaid luggage, lost somewhere en route.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2025
And though it’s much easier now to find books and other media taking a range of perspectives on menopause, it’s also easy to be waylaid by influencers, charlatans and factionalism.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2025
Built on the bones of A Bug’s Land, construction for the Avengers Campus was waylaid due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but eventually opened to much fanfare within California Adventure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
“It is the stolen velocipede that has waylaid Mr. Harley-Dickinson, I am certain of it. He must have been stopped by a police officer, for why else would he not be here as planned?”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Flu has also forced concert cancellations in recent months, waylaying performances by Christina Aguilera and the rock band KISS.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2024
Her first project is to get the rights to a fabulous Australian wine by waylaying a female vintner at her winery and B&B.
From New York Times ● May 18, 2022
At a 2006 banquet, Sejnowski publicly pressed Minsky on whether people were right to demonize him for waylaying neural nets.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2018
After Wallace came Michael Moore, who became expert at waylaying the unexpecting in unexpected places.
From Slate ● May 26, 2010
“I’ve sailed these waters for centuries, waylaying any demigods foolish enough to explore the Mare Nostrum. This is 'my territory now. And all you have is mine.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
