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PlainSpell

lie

/laɪ̯/verb, noun

lie is spelled L-I-E: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 69 times per million words in written English, the 1,528th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting LIE, the name). People search “lay vs lie” about 12,100 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, lie means “To rest in a horizontal position on a surface” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in lie?

Letters3: L-I-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing69 times per million words; the 1,528th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Same letters

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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is lie?

Lie appears 69 times per million words in written English, the 1,528th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes LIE, the name.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce lie?

  • /laɪ̯/

Lie 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-lie.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lie.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with lie

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

lay vs lie12,100 G
lie vs lye590 G

Also written: ly, lye.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with lie?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as lie.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: lei, ile.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of lie

  • lies present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • lying participle, present
  • lay past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • laid past, participle
  • lain participle, past
  • lied participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does lie mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

    The book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.

  2. 2

    To be placed or situated.

  3. 3

    To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.

    to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hidden; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves

  4. 4

    Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.

  5. 5

    Used with with: to have sexual relations with.

  6. 6

    Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.

  7. 7

    archaicTo lodge; to sleep.

  8. 8

    To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.

  9. 9

    To give false information intentionally with intent to deceive.

    When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows.

  10. 10

    To convey a false image or impression.

    Photographs often lie.

  11. 11

    colloquialTo be mistaken or unintentionally spread false information.

    Sorry, I haven't seen your keys anywhere...wait, I lied! They're right there on the coffee table.

noun

  1. 1

    The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.

  2. 2

    The terrain and conditions surrounding the disc before it is thrown.

  3. 3

    The position of a fetus in the womb.

  4. 4

    A manner of lying; relative position.

  5. 5

    An animal's lair.

  6. 6

    An intentionally false statement; an intentional falsehood.

    I knew he was telling a lie by his facial expression.

  7. 7

    A statement intended to deceive, even if literally true.

  8. 8

    Anything that misleads or disappoints.

  9. 9

    slangA liar; a dishonest person.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Lie in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchêtre étendu, gésir, être couché (be in horizontal position), se trouver (be situated), mentir, mythonner (tell an intentional untruth)
Germanliegen, ligge (be in horizontal position), lügen, täuschen (tell an intentional untruth), Kindslage (position of fetus), Lüge (intentionally false statement)
Portugueseestar deitado, jazer (be in horizontal position), ficar, localizar-se (be situated), mentir (tell an intentional untruth), mentira (intentionally false statement)
Spanishestar acostado, estar echado, yacer, estar tumbado, estar alebrado, reposar (be in horizontal position)

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 lie come from?

From Middle English lien, liggen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after lie