as in to ambush
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise
a lonely stretch of highway along which unsuspecting tourists are often waylaid by gangs
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waylay
Waters is supportive of the new film and had every intention of seeing it opening weekend, but was waylaid by his busy schedule.
—
Jenelle Riley, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
However, their celebratory moment was waylaid when a bumblebee set its sights on the actress.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Traditions are waylaid, revised, or simply forgotten in assimilation’s slow creep.
—Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
The first phase of Azura went quietly online in 2020, its grand opening waylaid by the pandemic.
—Hannah Walhout, Travel + Leisure, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for waylay
Jenelle Riley, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
However, their celebratory moment was waylaid when a bumblebee set its sights on the actress.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Traditions are waylaid, revised, or simply forgotten in assimilation’s slow creep.
—Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
The first phase of Azura went quietly online in 2020, its grand opening waylaid by the pandemic.
—Hannah Walhout, Travel + Leisure, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for waylay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waylay
Verb
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And in July – not far from the Dallas field office, at an ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas – attackers used fireworks to draw out ICE agents and ambush them.—
Rick Jervis,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
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Upon booting up the game and working through a pretty robust character creator, players arrive in Lumiose City and are immediately ambushed by a content creator/social media manager working for the corporation Quasartico, Inc.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Her ex and his friends attacked him with a baseball bat and tried to shove him in a washing machine at one of his dad’s laundromats.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
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As the first crews began attacking the fire from inside the building, other crews were called in to make sure no one was inside.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Waylay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waylay. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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