lie
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
How often you will meet it
Rank 768 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 24,320 times across 173,643 chapters — 0.012% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 1,000 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
verb
- be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
- be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position The sick man lay in bed all daythe books are lying on the shelf
- originate also: dwell, consist, lie in The problems dwell in the social injustices in this country
- be and remain in a particular state or condition lie dormant
- tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive Don't lie to your parentsShe lied when she told me she was only 29
- have a place in relation to something else also: rest The fate of Bosnia lies in the hands of the WestThe responsibility rests with the Allies
noun
- a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth also: prevarication
lie in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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From twelve to two I would lie down to sleep.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures · Daniel Defoe · Chapter 1
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O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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He had trailed after the man of science along the benches of the mountains where coal beds lie.
The Heart of the Hills · John, Jr. Fox · Chapter 1
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Nobody in this section of the country believes the old threadbare lie that Negro men rape white women.
The Red Record Tabulated Statistics · Ida B. Wells-Barnett · Chapter 1
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Thou shalt lie in a bed stuffed with turtle's feathers; swoon in perfumed linen, like the fellow was smothered in roses.
The White Devil · John Webster · Chapter 1