lie down

verb

"lie-down" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lie down” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To assume a horizontal position.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lie-down · lie down · English

lie down · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "L" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for lie down
PropertyValue
Headwordlie down
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lie down” in English

lie downranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lie down is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for lie down, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is lie down, spelled L-I-E- -D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To assume a horizontal position.
  2. 2
    To assume a horizontal position.
  3. 3
    To be lazy or remiss.
  4. 4
    To submit passively.
  5. 5
    To have sexual intercourse (with).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Lie down on the bed until you feel better.
  2. He never got promoted because he was always lying down on the job.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lie down"?
"lie down" is spelled L-I-E- -D-O-W-N.
What does "lie down" mean?
As a verb, "lie down" means: To assume a horizontal position.
What language does "lie down" come from?
"lie down" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list