lie

lie1 [ laı ] (present participle lying [ `laııŋ ] ; past tense lay [ leı ] ; past participle lain [ leın ] ) verb intransitive ***

▸ 1 be/put yourself flat

▸ 2 be in place/on surface

▸ 3 in a competition

▸ 4 consist of

▸ 5 be in particular state

▸ 6 be interested in

▸ 7 say something that is not true

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) to be in a position in which your body is flat on a surface such as the floor or a bed:

lie on/in etc.: She was lying on the bed watching television.

lie still/awake/unconscious etc.: I lay awake worrying about work.

lie on your back/side/stomach etc.: Emma was lying on her back in the sunshine.

a ) to put yourself in a position in which your body is flat on a surface:

Go and lie on the bed until you feel better.

=> LAY

2. ) to be on a particular surface or in a particular place:

There were clothes lying all over the floor.

a ) used for saying where a place is:

The resort lies in a valley.

The farm lay a few miles to the north.

b ) FORMAL used for saying where someone is buried:

Here lies the body of James McDonald.

3. ) to be in a particular position in a competition:

As we go into the third round, Evans is lying in third place.

4. ) used for talking about things such as plans, ideas, and qualities and what they consist of:

He must decide where his future lies (=he must decide what he is going to do with his life).

lie in: The difficulty lies in knowing what to do next.

5. ) if something lies in a particular state, it is in that state:

The castle lay in ruins.

Her bag was lying open on the table.

6. ) if your interest lies in a particular subject, you are interested in it:

My main interest lies in the development of new technology.

7. ) (past tense lied [ laıd ]; past participle lied [ laıd ]) to deliberately say something that is not true:

It was obvious that she was lying.

lie about: He had to lie about his age to get into the army.

lie to: She admitted lying to the police.

lie through your teeth (=say something completely false): They say they're not married but they're lying through their teeth.

a ) if something lies, it shows or suggests facts that are not true:

The results of these surveys often lie.

let it/things lie

to not do or say anything because you might make a difficult situation worse

lie ahead/before/in store

if something lies ahead, it is going to happen to you in the future:

A grand future lies ahead of him.

lie at the heart of something

to be the most important part of something:

The questions of training and salary lie at the heart of the dispute.

lie at the root of something

to be the cause of something:

He believes that unemployment lies at the root of the problem.

lie heavy on someone FORMAL

to make you feel unhappy:

Feelings of guilt lay heavy on him.

lie in state

if the dead body of an important person lies in state, it is put in a public place for people to go and look at

lie in wait (for someone)

1. ) to hide so that you can attack someone when they pass you

2. ) if something unpleasant is lying in wait for you, it is going to happen to you:

Little did I know what troubles were lying in wait for me when I got home.

lie low

to hide, or try to avoid attracting attention to yourself, because someone is trying to find you

,lie a`round phrasal verb

1. ) intransitive or transitive if something is lying around somewhere, it has been left there instead of being put in the correct place:

Never leave cash or other valuables lying around.

You shouldn't leave bottles of pills lying around the house.

2. ) intransitive lie around something to spend a lot of time relaxing and not doing anything:

We lay around the house all day just playing cards and watching television.

,lie `back phrasal verb intransitive

to move from a sitting position into a position in which you are lying flat on a surface

,lie be`hind phrasal verb transitive

lie behind something to be the real reason for a decision or action:

We'd like to know what lay behind her decision to change her will.

,lie `down phrasal verb intransitive

same as LIE1 1A:

Lie down and relax.

I'm going to go and lie down for a while.

lie down on the job

to not work as hard at something as you should do

not take something lying down

to show that you will not accept unfair treatment by complaining about it or trying to change it

,lie `in phrasal verb intransitive BRITISH

to stay in bed in the morning for longer than usual

`lie with phrasal verb transitive lie with someone

1. ) if something such as responsibility or blame for something lies with someone, they are responsible for it or they should be blamed for it:

There is evidence to suggest that some blame lies with the police.

a ) if something such as power or a decision lies with someone, they have power or the right to make a decision:

Unfortunately, the decision doesn't lie with our department.

2. ) an old phrase meaning to have sex with someone

lie

lie 2 [ laı ] noun count **

something that you say or write that is not true and that you know is not true:

He told them he could drive, but it was a lie.

tell a lie/tell lies: Are you accusing me of telling lies?

tell someone a lie: All children tell their parents little lies sometimes.

blatant/complete/downright lie (=something that is completely false): He was uncomfortable about telling such a blatant lie.

give the lie to something FORMAL

to show that something is not at all true

live a lie

to continue for a long time to pretend that something is true:

I don't love him any more and I can't go on living a lie.

a pack of lies INFORMAL

several lies that someone tells