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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Following a trip to Bash Steed’s villainous lair, our trio returns home, where they’re confronted by Renée Zellweger’s Camila White. Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 7 Oct. 2025 Even diligent Webberheads will need to overlook certain gaffes, like a hero who seems to have tied himself up in a climactic moment and a Stygian lair well marked with glowing Exit signs. Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025 In the Henchmen's Heist room, participants have been hired by a super villain to break into a high security superhero lair and steal valuable assets before the hero returns. Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 3 Oct. 2025 The first stage of the final HOH contest had the final three flying in drones off the coast of BB City searching for the Mastermind’s new lair. Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lair

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lair. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

lair

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

More from Merriam-Webster on lair

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