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
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
Production came later, in 2014, when he was laid up in bed for three months with an illness.
—Elias Leight, Billboard, 13 June 2025
Both players once again laid up and were each lucky to even par the hole.
—Kendall Capps, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 June 2025
Female cicadas can lay up to 600 eggs, inserting them into the branches of trees and shrubs with their ovipositor (egg-laying organ), according to the University of Massachusetts.
—Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay up
Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Production came later, in 2014, when he was laid up in bed for three months with an illness.
—Elias Leight, Billboard, 13 June 2025
Both players once again laid up and were each lucky to even par the hole.
—Kendall Capps, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 June 2025
Female cicadas can lay up to 600 eggs, inserting them into the branches of trees and shrubs with their ovipositor (egg-laying organ), according to the University of Massachusetts.
—Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay up
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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According to scholar Nadia Margolis, the key to Christine’s success with her various projects lay in her acute awareness of existing in a men’s world with a dramatically unfair power imbalance.—
Emily Zarevich,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Sep. 2025
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Besides laying in them, our cats also scratch on them, scent mark them and tear them into pieces.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 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
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 30 Sep. 2025.
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