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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Recent Examples of lay up
McIlroy twice made birdie on the par 5s after laying up from the trees.
—
Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2026
Summit's Javon Ross (33) lays up a ball as Lovejoy's Maddox Johnson (2) defends in the second half of a high school basketball game, Class 5A Division II state semifinal, at SUM’s Moody Coliseum, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in University Park.
—Dallas Morning News, 11 Mar. 2026
Comedian Mike Epps had some encouraging words for a teen laid up in the hospital after being shot three times over the weekend.
—Cheryl V. Jackson, IndyStar, 5 Mar. 2026
She's unhappily laid up right now after a hit and run car accident near her Cranston home.
—Gail Ciampa, The Providence Journal, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lay up
Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2026
Summit's Javon Ross (33) lays up a ball as Lovejoy's Maddox Johnson (2) defends in the second half of a high school basketball game, Class 5A Division II state semifinal, at SUM’s Moody Coliseum, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in University Park.
—Dallas Morning News, 11 Mar. 2026
Comedian Mike Epps had some encouraging words for a teen laid up in the hospital after being shot three times over the weekend.
—Cheryl V. Jackson, IndyStar, 5 Mar. 2026
She's unhappily laid up right now after a hit and run car accident near her Cranston home.
—Gail Ciampa, The Providence Journal, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lay up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay up
Verb
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Engineers had to come up with their own substitutes for some of the basic tools that other developers use to store code, launch websites, and set up servers.—
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
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Then the samples sat in an incubator for over 1,000 days, as the researchers focused on their other experiments into how microbes process and store carbon in soil.—
Siddhant Pusdekar,
Quanta Magazine,
1 June 2026
Verb
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On Saturday morning, those hopes lay in tatters.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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Police now say that a former boyfriend, 47-year-old Juan Marquez of Hawthorne, lay in wait near her workplace, described on air as Families Together of Orange County.—
Jeff Horseman,
Oc Register,
17 May 2026
Verb
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The former officer was accused of secretly stashing millions of dollars in gold bars in his home, according to court documents and two people familiar with his employment history.—
Jeremy Mikula,
NBC news,
30 May 2026
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The three‑zipper layout keeps clothing, tech, and toiletries neatly separated, while interior pockets stash small essentials.—
Paris Wilson,
Travel + Leisure,
29 May 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 4 Jun. 2026.
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