1
as in to spread
to put a layer of on a surface
she lays the butter on so thickly that you hardly taste the bagel
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to employ
chiefly British
to provide with a paying job
lay on more staff for the busy tourist season in the Lake District
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay on
Verb
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The hotel has 277 rooms and suites spread across 12 floors of the 42-story building, ranging from a 460-square-foot deluxe room to the ultra-luxe 2,300-square-foot Presidential Suite, built for entertaining.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026 -
Worthington’s column was serialized, spreading this idea around.—
Jonathan Odden,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Target employs 9,300 people across 45 stores in Colorado, as well as at a dry goods distribution facility in Pueblo and a sorting center in Denver.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
Nippon Dynawave employs hundreds to produce bleached paperboard that is used to make cartons and containers for products like juice and milk.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Though more popular for your skin, when applied to your scalp and strands, the ingredient sloughs off buildup, soothes irritation, reduces dandruff, and controls oil production.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
29 May 2026
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Head coach Oliver Glasner has been the cause of a certain amount of friction too, but the same rules apply.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The couple did hire a supervisory electrician, but otherwise, Paul put down the HVAC himself and the flooring, among other things.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
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While much of those gains are concentrated in a few select sectors like health care, those two reports prompted some cautious optimism about hiring picking back up in 2026.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Verb
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Last month, the IRGC launched attacks into the Gulf and attempted to lay new underwater mines.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
1 June 2026
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From a certain perspective, the traps that Ibsen had laid for his characters were hilariously well made, and the one character who got the ghastly humor within the play itself was Hedda.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Lane and other higher education experts said institutions must focus on recruiting and catering to non-traditional college students.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
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They were recruited via a popular online research aid website known as CloudResearch and paid $100 each for participating in and completing the study.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The dog couldn’t go in her room so soon after her transplant, so Aspen dabbed colors on a small canvas and handed it to Scott, who put it in a plastic bag and smeared peanut butter on top.—
Laura Ungar,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
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The dog couldn’t go in her room so soon after her transplant, so Aspen dabbed colors on a small canvas and handed it to Scott, who put it in a plastic bag and smeared peanut butter on top.—
Laura Ungar,
Fortune,
23 May 2026
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Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20on. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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