laid an egg

phrase

past tense of lay an egg
1
as in stumbled
to make a mistake His book report was going perfectly until he laid an egg and got the main character's name wrong.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in collapsed
to be unsuccessful The gymnast nailed perfect landings on her first two vaults but really laid an egg on the third.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laid an egg
  1. dropped the ball
  2. fell short
  3. fell flat
Phrase
  • Then, when Manning got the ball back with two minutes left, Florida grabbed its fifth sack courtesy of linebacker Myles Graham, and Manning dropped the ball in the process.
    — Noah White, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Yankees star Alex Rodriguez distracted Blue Jays third baseman Howie Clark by shouting at him on a key pop-up during the ninth inning, which spawned a near-fight after the infielder dropped the ball and a run scored.
    — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of dropped the ball
Phrase
  • The company’s forecast for revenue growth in the final three months of the year fell short of analysts’ expectations.
    — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • While the comeback fell short, McCarthy impressed and made history in the process.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of fell short
Phrase
  • The deal is Novo’s second since its investor day last week, when its pledges to boost growth with new drugs fell flat.
    — Ed Silverman, STAT, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, the administration has proposed cutting more than 9,400 of my fellow workers and launched a new effort to privatize TSA — Horizon 25 — after the TSA Gold+ privatization campaign fell flat.
    — Hydrick Thomas, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of fell flat
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.

Browse Nearby Words

laid
laid an egg
laid away
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Cite this Entry

“Laid an egg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laid%20an%20egg. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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