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” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,302) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,302
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lay · lay · English

lay · rank #2,302 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,302
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH ladies

Nearest frequency peer: ladies (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “lay”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “lay” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

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).laylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “ladies” (#2,301), “lights” (#2,303), “friendly” (#2,300). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for lay is neighbouring look-alikes ("le", "li", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /leɪ/. Frequency #2,302 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 21 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how lay appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave
  2. A shower of rain lays the dust.

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lay", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sam#2,313sat#2,314bob#2,3313rd#2,239

What to do next

You've looked up "lay". Here's where to go from here.

  • "lay" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "le". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,302 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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