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How to pronounce lay
Say it like this: /ˈleɪ/. Listen to real recordings below and compare how it sounds in different accents.
What does lay mean?
verbTo place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.
“A shower of rain lays the dust.”
To cause to subside or abate.
“But how upon the winds being laid, doth the ship cease to move?”
To compel a supernatural entity to cease haunting a place, often by ritual or prayer; to exorcise or banish (a spirit or ghost).
nounArrangement or relationship; layout.
“the lay of the land”
A share of the profits in a business.
“While the Pequod lay at Nantucket, Peleg put Ishmael down for the three hundredth lay.”
The direction a rope is twisted.
“Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.”
adjNot belonging to the clergy, but associated with them.
“a lay preacher; a lay brother”
Non-professional; not being a member of an organized institution.
“It is true that in adopting the short view many of the younger economists have not merely taken over the lay notions bodily.”
Not trumps.
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Pronunciations and meanings from Wiktionary via kaikki.org, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Recordings by Wikimedia Commons contributors. This page is shared under the same license.