as in to ambush
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise
a lonely stretch of highway along which unsuspecting tourists are often waylaid by gangs
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Recent Examples of waylay
The administration’s response is to waylay Lucy in the hall and drag her unprepared into a surprise meeting with the dean, Caitie, and Baird’s second-creepiest professor, Marianne, to discuss coming forward with her (false) allegation of rape.
—
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2026
In addition, the multiple injuries have waylaid his development.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
They were supposed to come together at the Palm Springs Film Festival earlier this month, but DiCaprio got famously waylaid while traveling back from his Jeff Bezos yacht vacation.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 9 Jan. 2026
Damon takes center stage as Odysseus, the brave and cunning king of Ithaca who gets waylaid for 10 years trying to return home to his loyal wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and dutiful son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), after playing a key role in the Trojan War.
—Oliver Gettell, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for waylay
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2026
In addition, the multiple injuries have waylaid his development.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
They were supposed to come together at the Palm Springs Film Festival earlier this month, but DiCaprio got famously waylaid while traveling back from his Jeff Bezos yacht vacation.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 9 Jan. 2026
Damon takes center stage as Odysseus, the brave and cunning king of Ithaca who gets waylaid for 10 years trying to return home to his loyal wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and dutiful son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), after playing a key role in the Trojan War.
—Oliver Gettell, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for waylay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waylay
Verb
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Lucca van der Woude approached Plaintiff from behind to ambush and digitally penetrate him.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
3 Mar. 2026
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Talk shows continued to invite her, often in order to ambush her.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On Thursday, Iran’s new Supreme Leader said that his country would keep closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which about a fifth of the world’s oil flows, and more vessels in the Persian Gulf were attacked, including two oil tankers that were set ablaze off the coast of Iraq.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
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Iran attacked two oil tankers off the coast of Iraq overnight, setting them ablaze.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waylay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waylay. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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