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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Recent Examples of lay in
His response lay in his roots, growing up learning about his mother’s family and seeing his father work daily on four hours of sleep a night.
—
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
Flick was aware of what lay in store for his team and asked them to play a more pragmatic game than usual.
—Laia Cervelló Herrero, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
One big unknown, following the death of the penny, lay in how retailers might handle the math of rounding off cash transactions.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
Years before the rise of Instagram, Banksy figured out that the key to real influence lay in not being famous, exactly, but in being anonymous.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lay in
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
Flick was aware of what lay in store for his team and asked them to play a more pragmatic game than usual.
—Laia Cervelló Herrero, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
One big unknown, following the death of the penny, lay in how retailers might handle the math of rounding off cash transactions.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
Years before the rise of Instagram, Banksy figured out that the key to real influence lay in not being famous, exactly, but in being anonymous.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lay in
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay in
Verb
-
Among the few thousand photographs stored in the house, Djena appeared in fewer than forty.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
The vineyard is currently leased to a local winemaker, offering a hands-off approach to production, though the resulting vintages can be stored in the home’s custom wine cellar, which accommodates up to 1,880 bottles.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Its side pockets—a rare find in cute dresses—are perfect for stashing your everyday essentials.—
Jasmine Gomez,
Travel + Leisure,
17 May 2026
-
Try MyRecipes, our digital recipe box, to stash and organize all your favorite Better Homes & Gardens recipes.—
Kelsey Ogletree,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
McIlroy twice made birdie on the par 5s after laying up from the trees.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
-
But thanks to their reproductive vigor — females can lay up to 25,000 eggs in a single season — their numbers quickly hopped out of hand.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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 22 May. 2026.
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