LAYS ON Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

lays on

verb

present tense third-person singular of lay on

as in spreads

to put a layer of on a surface she lays the butter on so thickly that you hardly taste the bagel

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in employs

chiefly British to provide with a paying job lay on more staff for the busy tourist season in the Lake District

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lays on

Verb

Once personal information spreads to people-search sites and data brokers, cutting down those profiles can help put some distance between you and anyone trying to build a convincing story around your life.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Rather than relying on one generation source, the plan spreads the capacity across three projects with different roles and development timelines.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of spreads

Verb

The company already had a strong corporate presence in the city, but has since expanded and employs 2,500 Georgians, as well as workers around the world at 5,300 global locations.

— Irene Wright, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
The company employs about 850 people, does hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure work around the Northeast, and is frequently Connecticut’s choice on big-ticket contracts to construct schools, rebuild highways or repair bridges.

— Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of employs

Verb

This also applies to a free-agent acquisition like free-agent winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who (incredibly) remains a free agent at this time.

— Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Judge Louis will consider whether the treaty applies to the case and determine if the evidence establishes probable cause.

— Bill Chappell, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of applies

Verb

Lucie, having exhausted all other possibilities, and needing Darnay in order to find her father, hires a very reluctant Carton, who in a trick worthy of Perry Mason, gets him off when a witness cannot tell him and Darnay apart.

— Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Ironically, that only clicks into focus when Lester hires a handsome indigenous boy named Jimmy (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) to be the woman of the house.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of hires

Verb

My novel The Rayburn Affair lays bare notions of friendship, rivalry, envy, authorship, and power.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Accounting Statement 34 from the standards-setting nonprofit lays the foundation for capitalizing, reporting and depreciating capital assets.

— Kathryn Blackman, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of lays

Verb

Standout recruits among the mass of volunteers were selected for additional training and assigned to high-priority operations.

— Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
Ryu and Ken Masters’ paths collide again after Chun-Li (Liang) tracks them down and recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament.

— Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of recruits

Verb

Darker smears around the crater’s rim contain surface rocks and lunar dust called regolith previously altered by solar winds, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation over an extended period of time.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026
The atmosphere works on them a little bit harder and reduces their strength and smears them a little bit more.

— Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of smears

Verb

Closing out the evening at Louis Armstrong Stadium, American Learner Tien takes on Russian Karen Khachanov, hoping to join compatriots Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen in the last eight.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 Sep. 2026
Newport Harbor is 9-0 and takes on Edison and Marina in league matches this week before beginning play in the Dave Mohs tournament.

— Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of takes on

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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lays off (of)

lays on

lays out

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“Lays on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lays%20on. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of lays on

verb

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