lay
/leɪ/verb, noun, adjective
lay is spelled L-A-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 44 times per million words in written English, the 2,290th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “lay vs lie” about 12,100 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, lay means “To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lay?
| Letters | 3: L-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 44 times per million words; the 2,290th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is lay?
Lay appears 44 times per million words in written English, the 2,290th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lay?
- /leɪ/
Lay has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lay.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lay
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: le, lei (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of lay
- lays present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- laying participle, present
- laid participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- more lay comparative
- most lay superlative
- lai
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lay mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.
to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave
- 2
archaicTo cause to subside or abate.
- 3
To compel a supernatural entity to cease haunting a place, often by ritual or prayer; to exorcise or banish (a spirit or ghost).
- 4
To prepare (a plan, project etc.); to set out, establish (a law, principle).
- 5
To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.
lay brick; lay flooring
- 6
To produce and deposit (an egg or eggs).
The hen laid an egg.
- 7
To bet (that something is or is not the case).
I'll lay that he doesn't turn up on Monday.
- 8
To deposit (a stake) as a wager; to stake; to risk.
- 9
To don or put on (tefillin (phylacteries)).
- 10
simple past of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)
The baby lay in its crib and slept silently.
noun
- 1
Arrangement or relationship; layout.
the lay of the land
- 2
A share of the profits in a business.
While the Pequod lay at Nantucket, Peleg put Ishmael down for the three hundredth lay.
- 3
The direction a rope is twisted.
Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.
- 4
colloquialA casual sexual partner.
What was I, just another lay you can toss aside as you go on to your next conquest?
- 5
colloquialAn act of sexual intercourse.
- 6
archaicslangA place or activity where someone spends a significant portion of their time.
- 7
The laying of eggs.
The hens are off the lay at present.
- 8
obsoleteA layer.
- 9
A lake.
- 10
A ballad or sung poem; a short poem or narrative, usually intended to be sung.
- 11
A lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.
- 12
obsoleteA meadow; a lea.
- 13
obsoleteA law.
- 14
obsoleteAn obligation; a vow.
adjective
- 1
Not belonging to the clergy, but associated with them.
They seemed more lay than clerical.
- 2
Non-professional; not being a member of an organized institution.
- 3
Not trumps.
a lay suit
- 4
obsoleteNot educated or cultivated; ignorant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lay in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coucher, poser, mettre , pondre , coup , laïque |
| German | legen , Laien-, laikal , ablegen , flachlegen |
| Portuguese | deitar , botar , deixar , preparar, dispor , assentar |
| Spanish | acostar, echar, tender , laico , poner , lego |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lay come from?
Inherited from Middle English leyen, leggen, from Old English leċġan (“to lay”), from Proto-West Germanic *laggjan, from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną (“to lay”), causative form of Proto-Germanic *ligjaną (“to lie, recline”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, recline”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).