1
as in to dump
to get rid of as useless or unwanted
a politician who had laid by his principles years ago
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to store
to put (something of future use or value) in a safe or secret place
ever since the last hurricane caught them unprepared, they have laid by emergency supplies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay by
Verb
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As most Chicagoans aware of the history of the civil rights movement know all too well, an all-white, all-male jury acquitted the two men of killing the Black teenager from Chicago and dumping his body in the river.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026 -
The mobsters turned the van around, pulled off the highway and dumped Gasso in a patch of poison ivy along the Connecticut River in Wethersfield.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Before this week, water stored in snowpack was near record-minimum levels in Colorado and Utah, a critical portion of the Colorado River basin that serves approximately 40 million people.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
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Stars use fusion to generate hundreds of times the energy stored even gravitationally.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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About 16 gloves were found in various spots near the house, most of which were searchers’ gloves that had been discarded, the FBI said.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
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The first-stage booster that had been tapped during the original attempts was discarded for a new booster.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Part of her genius lay in the ability to discover meaning where no one else imagined it could be found.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
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Two days after the killings, a body still lay in blood on Thursday.—
Pelumi Salako,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sydney Sweeney ditched her pants in an NSFW photo with a male model while teasing the launch of her latest Syrn lingerie launch on February 17.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
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Weave has ditched the traditional mobile robot design in favor of a stationary structure, aiming to create a safer, more reliable entry point for home robotics.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the calls, Mary detailed to the deputies the steps Nathan was taking to kill her, from affixing a tracker on her car to stashing a black backpack in her garage containing duct tape, zip ties and a note with the word ‘waterboarding’ written on it.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
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Plus, there are subtle side pockets to secretly stash your phone, keys, and other small essentials.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In one video posted on Instagram, several people are seen on the side of the bridge unloading what appears to be several boxes of fireworks.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Officer secured the firearm, which was later determined to be unloaded, police said.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Texas Christian University Horned Frogs forward Marta Suárez (7) lays up a first half shot against the Houston Cougars during the first half at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, February 4, 2026.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
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The only time the Fitzgerald made it to its homeport of Milwaukee was when the ship was laid up during the 1959 steel strike, from June to October.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20by. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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