as in to store
to put (something of future use or value) in a safe or secret place
an eating disorder that would impel her to lay up candy bars in her closet for all-night food binges
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lay up
Their ability to reproduce — a female can lay up to 2,500 eggs on a single animal — can worsen the situation.
—
Addy Bink, The Hill, 21 Sep. 2025
Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers attempts a lay up against Miles McBride #2 and Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks during the third quarter in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 27, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
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
Now, researchers are discovering more in the Rio Grande Valley, where the crayfish are breeding rapidly, with each female capable of laying up to 5,000 eggs annually.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay up
Addy Bink, The Hill, 21 Sep. 2025
Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers attempts a lay up against Miles McBride #2 and Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks during the third quarter in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 27, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
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
Now, researchers are discovering more in the Rio Grande Valley, where the crayfish are breeding rapidly, with each female capable of laying up to 5,000 eggs annually.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay up
Verb
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The bronze doors and concrete walls with remarkably few windows looked ancient, and the building more closely resembled a student dormitory awaiting demolition than an institution where precious cultural assets from around the world were collected and stored.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
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For decades, this half-square-mile town wedged between Costco and Highway 1 has been hiding in plain sight — a warehouse district turned open-air art gallery, where murals climb concrete walls and sculptors work in spaces that once stored industrial equipment.—
Audrey T. Williams,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors said Morgan lay in wait in his Jeep at the corner of Wortman and Alabama Aves.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
23 Jan. 2026
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Another affinity between the Romanians and the Iraqis lay in the fact that both knew the difficulties of living under a dictatorship.—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Best to keep backups of all of that data stashed, cached, and out of harm’s way—and space makes an ideal safe deposit box.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
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Various zippered pockets inside the front flap are great for stashing smaller essentials, and a front pocket can fit a 13-inch laptop.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Jan. 2026
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20up. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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