lair

1 of 2

noun

1
dialectal British : a resting or sleeping place : bed
2
a
: the resting or living place of a wild animal : den
tracked the bear back to its lair
b
: a refuge or place for hiding
a villain's lair

lair

2 of 2

verb

laired; lairing; lairs

transitive verb

chiefly Scotland : to cause to sink in mire

intransitive verb

chiefly Scotland : wallow

Examples of lair in a Sentence

Noun tracking the bear back to its lair She runs the project from her private lair in the suburbs.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Travelers are drawn to natural phenomena like the bone-white cliffs of former pirate lair Kleftiko and Sikia sea cave with azure waters ideal for snorkeling. Helen Iatrou, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2024 On the other end comes lair Said’s ‘Most People Die on Sundays,’ opening up a unique to its generation guidebook that reveals all there is to know about the highs and lows of millennial existentialism, delivered through sincere yet unprecedented humour. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024 Put family first, give love to those who need it most and shower it within your Leo lair. Debbie Frank, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024 Dug directly into the landscape like an eco–Bond lair, Melote House, South Africa is a high-design lodge that sits in South Africa's rhino-friendly Lapalala Wilderness reserve, fully staffed for game drives, boat cruises, and spa treatments available at your leisure. Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2024 McDonough was deputy national security adviser when Navy SEALs descended on the terrorist mastermind’s lair in Pakistan. USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024 But for a noir of isolation and concealment, about how the past can often feel inescapable, these shadowy dugouts — Travis’ motel, a church and one character’s lonely lair — are an atmospheric mother lode. Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024 Monk’s costume design impresses, as Elodie must use parts of her dress to engineer her way out of dire encounters with the dragon (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo) and the maze of its underground lair. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 The rare-book library shares an elegant plaza with Yale’s concert hall, the president’s office, the main dining hall, its World War I monument, and the lairs of Book and Snake, and Scroll and Key, two secret societies. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 8 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English leger; akin to Old High German legar bed, Old English licgan to lie — more at lie

Verb

Scots lair mire

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1560, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of lair was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near lair

Cite this Entry

“Lair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lair. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

lair

noun
ˈla(ə)r,
ˈle(ə)r
1
: the den or resting place of a wild animal
2

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