lair

1 of 2

noun

ˈler 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• hideout
• nest

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

Noun

The group follows Amelia into a secret lair in Silicon Valley where the '80s motherboard is locked away. —Keith Langston, People.com, 28 June 2025

Thanks to an incessant stream of sensational newspaper articles and a nonstop rumor mill, the public had the idea of Hollywood as a lair of iniquity and debasement. —Literary Hub, 24 June 2025

Times reporters got inside the lair of a Sudanese Army sniper, in a once-luxurious riverside building in Khartoum. —Natasha Frost, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025

Fitting for an actor, the house hides a cinematic lair. —Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025

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

Rhymes for lair

• air
• ayre
• bahr
• bare
• blare
• care
• chair
• claire
• ere
• err
• eyre
• fair

Kids Definition

lair

noun

ˈla(ə)r,

ˈle(ə)r

1

: the den or resting place of a wild animal

2

: refuge sense 1, hideaway