1
as in to discard
to get rid of as useless or unwanted
a politician who had laid by his principles years ago
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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To remove the pulp from the seeds, use a spoon or butter knife to scrape the pulp, separating it from the seeds, which may be discarded.—
Stephanie Ganz,
Southern Living,
12 Oct. 2025 -
Duplicate submissions will be discarded.—
Steven Martinez,
jsonline.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The acting head of DOE’s environmental program was fired in early September, prompting speculation that the agency was trying to shift toward storing the waste by mixing it with a cement-like substance called grout, reported Science.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
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Ice is often taken for granted today, but the ability to both store and keep frozen water signified immense influence and privilege in ancient cultures.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With exactly 11 minutes remaining, Walker dumped a screen pass off to O’Brien.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
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In some cases, a major winter storm will dump heavy snow in northern areas, while the South contends with a springlike severe storm threat from the same system.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Liverpool’s pursuit of Champions League qualification lay in tatters.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
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For Dickinson, the greater challenge lay in finding the right tone to strike around the film’s sensitive subject matter of homelessness and mental health.—
Liam Hess,
Vogue,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Gen Zers in their droves are ditching college to become their own boss.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
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Duke also proposed new natural gas plants, like in Vermillion County, Indiana, and the Sierra Club noted the utility has ditched plans to build out renewable energy.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Or go on the opposite side of the design spectrum and wake up your coffee party with an Anut Cairo Circus jar—a perfect place to stash sugar cubes.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
15 Oct. 2025
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The hoard includes some unusual coins and tells a story about the time when it was carefully stashed away.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In some cases, aircraft crews unloaded aid in near-darkness, refueled and immediately switched to evacuation runs.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
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Karl pitched it to Baez, who, while running to his right, unloaded a pass downfield to English.—
Andrew Cornelius,
Twin Cities,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Adult female flies can lay up to 400 eggs at a time, and each larva in a human patient has to be physically dug out from infected flesh.—
Jon Brodkin,
ArsTechnica,
25 Aug. 2025
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Walking up the eighteenth hole, Woad laid up into the par-5 finisher before sticking a 3/4 wedge to 2 feet to seal the tournament.—
Mike Fore,
Forbes.com,
27 July 2025
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Lay vs. Lie
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Cite this Entry
“Lay by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20by. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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