1
: the action of laying up or the condition of being laid up
2
: a shot in basketball made from near the basket usually by playing the ball off the backboard
laid up; laying up; lays up
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
Examples of layup in a Sentence
Verb
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
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 13 Apr. 2024
The Hornets did have a strong comeback win at Atlanta Wednesday night, with Miles Bridges going coast-to-coast for the winning layup in a 115-114 thriller, but those moments have been few and far between the last couple of years.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 11 Apr. 2024
The eighth-seeded Cougars made their first-ever Final Four appearance a memorable one, rallying in the second half before Minnesota State’s Emily Herzberg ended their season with a banked layup with 0.3 seconds remaining.
—Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2024
Highsmith even pressured Warriors veteran guard Chris Paul into a back-court turnover, stealing the ball from Paul and turning it into an easy layup for himself late in the first half.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
The Titans then took their only lead of the game at 10-9 on a layup by Nimmo with 2:13 left in the opening quarter, but UC Davis responded with an 8-0 run.
—Dan Arritt, Orange County Register, 14 Mar. 2024
Golden State’s lead hovered around 20, and Thompson freed himself on a backdoor cut for a smooth reverse layup.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
There was also an and-one layup finish that got the crowd going early — one that prompted a Miller scowl and flex as if to signal to the 16,374 on hand: Today is my day.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 6 Apr. 2024
Ashlyn Watkins of the South Carolina Gamecocks goes for a layup during the game against the N.C. State Wolfpack during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 5, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
—CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
Brad Thomas, NBC News, 14 Apr. 2024
Homa, who finished 1-over for the day, took very few chances, laying up on the final two par-5s on Saturday.
—Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2024
Fleas can lay up to 50 eggs daily, leading to rapid infestation.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 8 Nov. 2023
Bees and ants reproduce quickly–a queen can lay up to thousands of eggs in a day.
—Popular Science, 29 Feb. 2024
Female bedbugs can deposit one to five eggs a day and may lay up to 200 to 500 eggs in their lifetime.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024
Those two moments laid up against each other very nicely.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 13 Oct. 2023
Photographs show soldiers reading them while getting a haircut, laid up in traction and facing various challenging conditions.
—Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2023
Females can lay up to seven eggs a day, meaning infestations can spread quickly.
—Leila Sackur, NBC News, 30 Sep. 2023
Noun
The Suns got within two when a turnover by Sabonis led to a layup by Beal with 1:02 to go.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 13 Apr. 2024
The Hornets did have a strong comeback win at Atlanta Wednesday night, with Miles Bridges going coast-to-coast for the winning layup in a 115-114 thriller, but those moments have been few and far between the last couple of years.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 11 Apr. 2024
The eighth-seeded Cougars made their first-ever Final Four appearance a memorable one, rallying in the second half before Minnesota State’s Emily Herzberg ended their season with a banked layup with 0.3 seconds remaining.
—Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2024
Highsmith even pressured Warriors veteran guard Chris Paul into a back-court turnover, stealing the ball from Paul and turning it into an easy layup for himself late in the first half.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
The Titans then took their only lead of the game at 10-9 on a layup by Nimmo with 2:13 left in the opening quarter, but UC Davis responded with an 8-0 run.
—Dan Arritt, Orange County Register, 14 Mar. 2024
Golden State’s lead hovered around 20, and Thompson freed himself on a backdoor cut for a smooth reverse layup.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
There was also an and-one layup finish that got the crowd going early — one that prompted a Miller scowl and flex as if to signal to the 16,374 on hand: Today is my day.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 6 Apr. 2024
Ashlyn Watkins of the South Carolina Gamecocks goes for a layup during the game against the N.C. State Wolfpack during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 5, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
—CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
Amid all the action, on 15, Åberg found the trees off the tee and was forced to lay up on the reachable par 5.
—Brad Thomas, NBC News, 14 Apr. 2024
Homa, who finished 1-over for the day, took very few chances, laying up on the final two par-5s on Saturday.
—Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2024
Fleas can lay up to 50 eggs daily, leading to rapid infestation.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 8 Nov. 2023
Bees and ants reproduce quickly–a queen can lay up to thousands of eggs in a day.
—Popular Science, 29 Feb. 2024
Female bedbugs can deposit one to five eggs a day and may lay up to 200 to 500 eggs in their lifetime.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024
Those two moments laid up against each other very nicely.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 13 Oct. 2023
Photographs show soldiers reading them while getting a haircut, laid up in traction and facing various challenging conditions.
—Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2023
Females can lay up to seven eggs a day, meaning infestations can spread quickly.
—Leila Sackur, NBC News, 30 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'layup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Layup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layup. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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 verb1
: 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
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