lie on/upon
phrasal verb
lay on/upon; lain on/upon; lying on/upon; lies on/upon
: to affect (someone) in a specified way
Sorrow lay heavily on him.
Guilt lies on his conscience.
She keeps herself healthy so her years lie lightly upon her.
Examples of lie on/upon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Several interesting features are visible in the image, including a rock that appears to lie on top of a sand ripple and hills as distant as 40 miles away.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Clients lie on the table, close their eyes, and listen to soothing music.
—Anneke Knot, Allure, 6 Aug. 2025
No Other Land, which won the Best Documentary Academy award this year, documents the cycle of destruction and harassment on a collection of hamlets and their Bedouin communities which lie on the Palestinian West Bank side of the 1949 Green Line.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 July 2025
After asking the man to take off his shirt, Saunders had the man, who was wearing shorts, lie on his back on his bed, with a towel covering his midsection.
—Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for lie on/upon
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Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Clients lie on the table, close their eyes, and listen to soothing music.
—Anneke Knot, Allure, 6 Aug. 2025
No Other Land, which won the Best Documentary Academy award this year, documents the cycle of destruction and harassment on a collection of hamlets and their Bedouin communities which lie on the Palestinian West Bank side of the 1949 Green Line.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 July 2025
After asking the man to take off his shirt, Saunders had the man, who was wearing shorts, lie on his back on his bed, with a towel covering his midsection.
—Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for lie on/upon
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Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lie on/upon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lie%20on%2Fupon. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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