lie to

verb

lay to; lain to; lying to; lies to

intransitive verb

of a ship

: to stay stationary with head to windward

Examples of lie to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After the crash, Tran called 911 and reported the truck driver for a hit-and-run, lying to police that he was stopped in traffic when he was hit, prosecutors said. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026

The Founding Fathers attacked their enemies in the papers, spreading lies to incite the public against their opponents. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Watch Brown and Partridge attempt to lie to each other in the video above. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 2 July 2026

As the girls became increasingly confused about the red, some guys went mute so as not to lie to their girlfriends. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1711, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lie to

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

Video

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.