lie up

verb

lay up; lain up; lying up; lies up

intransitive verb

1

: to go into or remain in a dock

2

: to stay in bed or at rest

Examples of lie up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Clearly, our strengths lie up front. — Philipp Lahm, New York Times, 14 June 2026

In that environment, officers had every incentive to lie up the chain of command when reality on the ground did not match what leaders wanted to hear. — John Broich, The Conversation, 21 May 2026

The serene reception area and library-like lounge lie up a flight of steps; all-day dining and drinks happen at the MO Bar, at street level below the lobby. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Feb. 2026

Unlike native apple snails, the invasive species grow to the size of a tennis ball, lay up to 1,000 eggs at a time, reproduce year-round and can survive more than a year buried in mud. — Sofia Baltodano, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2026

Female tortoises typically lay up to 20 billiard-ball-sized eggs at a time, according to the Philadelphia Zoo. — Ayana Archie, NPR, 9 Apr. 2025

Very little tops Taormina, the home to ancient Greek ruins that lie up a majestic hill. — Liza B. Zimmerman, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024

Salmon lay up to 5,000 eggs, with only about two surviving their entire life cycle. — Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 22 Apr. 2024

While the draining of reservoirs let loose heavy loads of sediment, there are also areas where piles of sand, gravel and clay lie up to 15 feet deep beside tributary streams. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1699, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lie up

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

Video

Lay vs. Lie

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to Ask the Editor. I'm Emily Brewster, an associate editor at Merriam-Webster.
 
Sometimes we tell you that certain grammar rules are little more than the Latin-inspired whims of long dead grammarians. But not so with the verbs lay and lie. This pair is a doozy that's been tripping up English speakers for 700 years.
 
Lay's most common meaning is, to place something or someone down in a flat position. Lie's corresponding meaning is, to be in a flat position on a surface.
 
Lay is transitive. It requires that the verb have an object. There has to be a thing or a person being placed.
- Lay it down.
 
Lie, on the other hand, is intransitive. It's for something or someone moving on their own. Or something or someone that's already in position.
- You can lie down there.
- You can lie there all day.
 
That's tricky enough, but it gets worse when we start using the words beyond the now.
 
Here's lay in context in tenses that show its principal forms.
- I was told to lay the book down.
- I laid it down as I have laid other books down.
- I am laying more books down now.
 
And here's lie.
- I was told to lie down.
- I lay down.
- I have lain here since.
- I'm still lying here.
 
Did you catch that?
 
For lay, we have lay, laid, have laid, laying.
For lie, we have lie, lay, have lain, lying.
 
And then there's the unrelated verb meaning to tell an untruth.
That lie goes, lie, lied, have lied, lying.
 
What fascinates me about all this is that the language has continued to carry a torch for the distinction for 700 years. Enough writers and editors get these right generation after generation, that there continues to be a right and a wrong. It's not because dead grammarians said so, but because people like you get it right, often enough anyway, that it's still how the land lays.
 
I mean lies.
 
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