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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Lay Definition: Meanings, Examples, and Usage Tips (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：put down gently (lay)

lay 🔊

/leɪ/

To put something down gently on a flat surface.

put down gently 🔊

➕

/pʊt daʊn ˈdʒentli/

To place something carefully onto a surface, typically a horizontal one, without force.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Old English 'lecgan' meaning 'to put down', related to 'lie' (to recline).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of 'lay the table' – your hands place items flat, just like laying something down gently.

📖 Example

After reading, she carefully laid the book on the coffee table. 🔊 After reading, she carefully placed the book on the coffee table.

🔗 Collocations

lay the table – to place cutlery, plates, etc. on the table for a meal

lay bricks – to set bricks in position with mortar

lay a foundation – to prepare a base for something, literally or metaphorically

🔄 Synonyms

place (v.) – To put something in a specific position.

set (v.) – To put something carefully in a fixed position.

deposit (v.) – To put something down in a particular place, often for safekeeping.

🚫 Antonyms

lift (v.) – To raise something from a surface.

remove (v.) – To take something away from where it was placed.

🌱 Derivatives

layer (n.) – a sheet or thickness of material placed on a surface

layover (n.) – a short stay between parts of a journey

layout (n.) – the way something is arranged or placed

📖 Cultural Story

From Proto-Germanic *lagjan 'to make lie down'. The confusion between 'lay' and 'lie' is a classic English grammar challenge, featured in many style guides.

Meaning 2：produce eggs (lay)

lay 🔊

/leɪ/

When a bird or chicken produces an egg from its body.

produce eggs 🔊

➕

/prəˈdjuːs eɡz/

When a female bird, reptile, or other egg-laying animal expels an egg from its body.

📁 Category：Animal Protection 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The chickens in our backyard lay fresh eggs every morning. 🔊 The chickens in our backyard produce fresh eggs every morning.

🔗 Collocations

lay an egg – to produce an egg (also used figuratively for failure)

lay eggs in a nest – to deposit eggs in a prepared nesting site

free-range laying hens – hens that are allowed to roam and produce eggs outdoors

🔄 Synonyms

deposit (v.) – (biology) to lay eggs or spawn

spawn (v.) – to produce or deposit eggs (used especially for fish, amphibians)

oviposit (v.) – technical term for depositing eggs by insects, fish, etc.

🚫 Antonyms

hatch (v.) – to break out of an egg

absorb (v.) – to take in or reabsorb eggs internally

🌱 Derivatives

layer (n.) – a hen that is raised for egg production

laying (n.) – the act of producing eggs