lie

Study(30)

/laɪ̯/

noun 9verb 8name 2

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

big, monstrous, (whopping) great

She was caught telling a big lie about where she had been last night.

little

complete, downright, outright

She told him a complete lie about where she had been all afternoon.

white

He told a white lie to avoid hurting his friend's feelings about her new haircut.

deliberate | barefaced, blatant, obvious, transparent

elaborate

She told an elaborate lie to avoid getting in trouble at work.

VERB + LIE

tell (sb) | believe, swallow

live

The old fisherman's cottage lies on a quiet beach far from the busy city.

LIE + NOUN

detector

PHRASES

a pack/tissue/web of lies

(verb.) be in a flat position

ADV

down

She felt tired after work, so she decided to lie down for a while.

PREP

The cat was lying on the sunny windowsill all afternoon.

PHRASES

lie asleep/awake

She lay awake for hours listening to the rain against the windows.

lie face down/prostrate

After the accident, the injured cyclist lay face down on the pavement waiting for help.

lie flat

After the long hike, she had to lie flat on the ground to rest her tired legs.

lie motionless/still

The injured dog lay motionless on the ground until the vet arrived.

lie sprawled

The injured player lay sprawled across the field after the collision.

(verb.) say sth that is not true

ADV

convincingly

She lied convincingly about why she was late to the meeting.

easily

PREP

about

He lied about where he had been last night.

She lied to her parents about where she was going that evening.

Definitions

verb

To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

The book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.

Under an oak were lying asleep a pair of shepherds.

To be placed or situated.

Ying-yang county lies 70 li southwest of the modern Teng-feng county, Honan.

Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.

To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.

to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hidden; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves

The paper does not lie smooth on the wall.

Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.

Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.

He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labour, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.

Used with with: to have sexual relations with.

And it came to passe after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes vpon Ioseph, and shee said, Lie with me.

noun

The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.

The terrain and conditions surrounding the disc before it is thrown.

The position of a fetus in the womb.

A manner of lying; relative position.

An animal's lair.

verb

To give false information intentionally with intent to deceive.

When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows.

If you are found to have lied in court, you could face a penalty.

To convey a false image or impression.

Photographs often lie.

To be mistaken or unintentionally spread false information.

Sorry, I haven't seen your keys anywhere...wait, I lied! They're right there on the coffee table.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

prevarication

verb — originate (in)

verb — have a place in relation to something else

rest

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

white lie

A deliberately untrue statement which is intended to produce a favorable result; especially, one which is judged to be better than an overhonest alternative, as for example to remain polite in a superficial social exchange, or to choose one

The prevarication and white lies which a mind that keeps itself ambitiously pure is as uneasy under as a great artist under the false touches that no eye detects but his own, are w

lie through one's teeth

To tell an obvious untruth.

When a politician claims he can lower taxes without cutting spending, he's lying through his teeth.

I tell a lie

I am mistaken; I thought that what I said (or wrote) was true, but I have just realised that it is not.

I visited Canada in 1996—no, I tell a lie, in 1997.

let sleeping dogs lie

To leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an old argument; to leave disagreements in the past.

Near-synonyms: let it be, leave it be, let things be, leave things be, let it alone, leave it alone, let things alone, leave things alone; let bygones be bygones, let nature take i

make one's bed and lie in it

To create a difficult situation whose unpleasant consequences one must now endure.

It was true that he had made his own bed, and he understood the justice which required him to lie upon it.

Example Bank

The book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.

Wiktionary

Under an oak were lying asleep a pair of shepherds.

Wiktionary

Though ye haue lien among the pots, yet shall yee bee as the wings of a doue, couered with siluer, and her feathers with yellow gold.

Wiktionary

When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows.

Wiktionary

If you are found to have lied in court, you could face a penalty.

Wiktionary

Don't lie to me!

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, lie is marked as slang, colloquial. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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