lay

/leɪ/

//leɪ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lay" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lay” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,302 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#2,302
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lay vs le
33% similar
lay vs li
33% similar
lay vs Lt
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lay
PropertyValue
Headwordlay
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/leɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,302
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lay” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lay lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for lay is 3 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /leɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,302 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 21 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

lay doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "le", "li", "Lt", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … The correct English form is lay, spelled L-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.
  2. 2
    To cause to subside or abate.
  3. 3
    To prepare (a plan, project etc.); to set out, establish (a law, principle).
  4. 4
    To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.
  5. 5
    To produce and deposit (an egg or eggs).
  6. 6
    To bet (that something is or is not the case).
  7. 7
    To deposit (a stake) as a wager; to stake; to risk.
  8. 8
    To have sex with.
  9. 9
    To state; to allege.
  10. 10
    To point; to aim.
  11. 11
    To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them.
  12. 12
    To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.
  13. 13
    To place (new type) properly in the cases.
  14. 14
    To apply; to put.
  15. 15
    To impose (a burden, punishment, command, tax, etc.).
  16. 16
    To impute; to charge; to allege.
  17. 17
    To present or offer.
  18. 18
    To produce and deposit an egg or eggs.
  19. 19
    To subside or abate.
  20. 20
    To take a position; to come or go.
  21. 21
    To lie: to rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

Etymology

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”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian lääse (“to lay; to lie”), West Frisian lizze (“to lay, to lie”), Cimbrian leng (“to lay”), Dutch leggen (“to lay”), German legen (“to lay”), Limburgish lègke (“to lay”), Luxembourgish leeën (“to lay”), Yiddish לייגן (leygn, “to lay”), Danish lægge (“to lay”), Faroese, Icelandic leggja (“to lay”), Norwegian Bokmål legge (“to lay”), Norwegian Nynorsk legga, legge, leggja, leggje (“to lay”), Swedish lägga (“to lay”), Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lagjan, “to lay”), Old French laier, laiier, laire (“to leave”), Albanian lag (“troop, band, war encampment”).

This word in other languages

acostar(Español)coucher(Français)legen(Deutsch)deitar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lay"?
"lay" is spelled L-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /leɪ/.
What does "lay" mean?
As a verb, "lay" means: To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.
What words are commonly confused with "lay"?
"lay" is commonly confused with "le", "li", "Lt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lay" is /leɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "lay"?
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 *l... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “lay”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /leɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “le” - see the side-by-side comparison. lay vs le
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list