lay up

verb

laid up; laying up; lays up

transitive verb

1

: to store up : lay by

2

: to disable or confine with illness or injury

a knee injury laid him up for a week

3

: to take out of active service

Synonyms of lay up

• store
• lay in
• stash
• lay by

Examples of lay up in a Sentence

an eating disorder that would impel her to lay up candy bars in her closet for all-night food binges

Recent Examples on the Web

Female moths can lay up to 500 eggs at a time.7 Pantry moths are most destructive in their larval stage, so discouraging this stage will help prevent the infestation from spreading. —Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 13 May 2026

The neo-bluegrass musician took to social media Monday to post photos of himself laid up in a hospital bed, along with multiple X-rays of the nuts and bolts now holding his leg together. —Chris Willman, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026

On the 12-foot canvas, my eye went to the place out of focus: the thin strip of billboard in the background featuring a young woman with sand-dune hips, patent knee-high boots and long black hair laid up on her side, wearing cat ears and a tiger bodysuit as flush as second skin. —Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026

McIlroy twice made birdie on the par 5s after laying up from the trees. —Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lay up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Video

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

Kids Definition

layup

1 of 2 noun

lay·​up ˈlā-ˌəp 

: a basketball shot made from near the basket usually by bouncing the ball off the backboard

lay up

2 of 2 verb

1

: to store up

2

: to disable or confine with illness or injury

a knee injury laid her up for a week

3

: to take out of active service