lie
I [la͟ɪ]POSITION OR SITUATION
lies, lying, lay, lain
(Please look at category 11 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.)
1) VERB If you are lying somewhere, you are in a horizontal position and are not standing or sitting.
[V prep/adv] There was a child lying on the ground...
[V adj] The injured man was lying motionless on his back...
[V adj] He lay awake watching her for a long time.
2) VERB If an object lies in a particular place, it is in a flat position in that place.
[V prep/adv] ...a newspaper lying on a nearby couch...
[V adj] Broken glass lay scattered on the carpet.
[V adj] ...a two-page memo lying unread on his desk.
3) VERB If you say that a place lies in a particular position or direction, you mean that it is situated there.
[V prep/adv] The islands lie at the southern end of the Kurile chain.
Syn:
sit
4) V-LINK You can use lie to say that something is or remains in a particular state or condition. For example, if something lies forgotten, it has been and remains forgotten.
[V adj] She turned back to the Bible lying open in her lap...
[V adj] The picture lay hidden in the archives for over 40 years...
[V prep] His country's economy lies in ruins.
Syn:
sit
5) VERB You can use lie to say what position a competitor or team is in during a competition. [mainly BRIT]
[V ord] I was going well and was lying fourth...
[V in n] Blyth Tait is lying in second place.
6) VERB You can talk about where something such as a problem, solution, or fault lies to say what you think it consists of, involves, or is caused by.
[V prep/adv] The problem lay in the large amounts spent on defence...
[V prep/adv] They will only assume that, as a woman, the fault lies with me...
[V prep/adv] He realised his future lay elsewhere...
[V prep/adv] We must be clear about where the responsibility lies.
Syn:
rest
7) VERB You use lie in expressions such as lie ahead, lie in store, and lie in wait when you are talking about what someone is going to experience in the future, especially when it is something unpleasant or difficult.
[V prep/adv] She'd need all her strength and bravery to cope with what lay in store...
[V prep/adv] The President's most serious challenges lie ahead.
8) VERB Lie is used in formal English, especially on gravestones, to say that a dead person is buried in a particular place.
[V prep/adv] The inscription reads: Here lies Catin, the son of Magarus...
[V prep/adv] My father lies in the small cemetery a few miles up this road.
9) VERB If you say that light, clouds, or fog lie somewhere, you mean that they exist there or are spread over the area mentioned. [LITERARY]
[V prep/adv] It had been wet overnight, and a morning mist lay on the field.
10) N-SING: with supp, oft N of n The lie of an object or area is its position or the way that it is arranged.
The actual site of a city is determined by the natural lie of the land.
11) to let sleeping dogs lie → see dog
to lie in state → see state
to take something lying down → see take
Phrasal Verbs:
- lie around
- lie back
- lie behind
- lie downII [la͟ɪ]THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE
lies, lying, lied
1) N-COUNT A lie is something that someone says or writes which they know is untrue.
→ See also white lie
`Who else do you work for?' - `No one.' - `That's a lie.'...
I've had enough of your lies...
All the boys told lies about their adventures.
2) VERB If someone is lying, they are saying something which they know is not true.
I know he's lying...
[V about n] If asked, he lies about his age...
[V to n] She lied to her husband so she could meet her lover...
[V-ing] He reportedly called her `a lying little twit'.
Derived words:
lying N-UNCOUNT Lying is something that I will not tolerate.
3) VERB If you say that something lies, you mean that it does not express or represent something accurately.
The camera sometimes lies.
4) → See also lying
5) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If something gives the lie to a statement, claim, or theory, it suggests or proves that it is not true.
This survey gives the lie to the idea that Britain is moving towards economic recovery.
6) PHRASE: V inflects, usu cont If you say that someone is living a lie, you mean that in every part of their life they are hiding the truth about themselves from other people.
My mother never told my father the truth about me. We've been living a lie all this time.
7) CONVENTION People sometimes say `I tell a lie' when they have just made a mistake in something that they are saying and immediately correct it. [BRIT]
It is the first scene of the play chronologically. I tell a lie, it's actually strictly speaking the second scene.
Syn:
sorry
