as in to store
to put (something of future use or value) in a safe or secret place
be sure to lay in enough food for the long Alaska winter
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lay in
Two-Tone Tile The biggest bathroom trend of the year: two colors of tile in two different sizes laid in a dynamic pattern.
—
Emily Williams, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2025
Mia, Rogers’ daughter, laid in her bed in the dark on August 1.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 14 Aug. 2025
When Nelson got up again, almost 40 shell casings lay in the street.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2025
The real challenge lay in the mental aspects, the steep learning curve of a new sport.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay in
Emily Williams, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2025
Mia, Rogers’ daughter, laid in her bed in the dark on August 1.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 14 Aug. 2025
When Nelson got up again, almost 40 shell casings lay in the street.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2025
The real challenge lay in the mental aspects, the steep learning curve of a new sport.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay in
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay in
Verb
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We, in collaboration with our partners, store and/or access information on a user's device, including but not limited to IP addresses, unique identifiers, and browsing data stored in cookies, in order to process personal data.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
25 Sep. 2025
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Or bundle the thyme and store it like flowers in a jar filled with water and cover it loosely with a plastic bag.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The closed storage is deep enough to stash a hefty amount inside, but from the outside the stand doesn’t appear chunky, for lack of a better word.—
Lauren Arzbaecher,
Architectural Digest,
23 Sep. 2025
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Dale, who was closeted at the time of his death, leaves behind notes stashed inside his treasured first-edition books hinting that his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) may have had something to do with his ostensible suicide.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 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
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20in. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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