a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
2.
something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture: His flashy car was a lie that deceived no one.
3.
an inaccurate or false statement.
4.
the charge or accusation of lying: He flung the lie back at his accusers.
–verb (used without object)
5.
to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive.
6.
to express what is false; convey a false impression.
–verb (used with object)
7.
to bring about or affect by lying (often used reflexively): to lie oneself out of a difficulty; accustomed to lying his way out of difficulties.
—Idioms
8.
give the lie to,
a.
to accuse of lying; contradict.
b.
to prove or imply the falsity of; belie: His poor work gives the lie to his claims of experience.
9.
lie in one's throat or teeth, to lie grossly or maliciously: If she told you exactly the opposite of what she told me, she must be lying in her teeth. Also, lie through one's teeth.
[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME; OE lyge; c. G Lüge, ON lygi; akin to Goth liugn; (v.) ME lien, OE léogan (intransit.); c. G lügen, ON ljūga, Goth liugan]
—Synonyms 1. prevarication, falsification. See falsehood.5. prevaricate, fib.
To be or place oneself at rest in a flat, horizontal, or recumbent position; recline: He lay under a tree to sleep.
To be placed on or supported by a surface that is usually horizontal: Dirty dishes lay on the table. See Usage Note at lay1.
To be or remain in a specified condition: The dust has lain undisturbed for years. He lay sick in bed.
To exist; reside: Our sympathies lie with the plaintiff.
To consist or have as a basis. Often used with in:The strength of his performance lies in his training.
To occupy a position or place: The lake lies beyond this hill.
To extend: Our land lies between these trees and the river.
To be buried in a specified place.
Law To be admissible or maintainable.
Archaic To stay for a night or short while.
n.
The manner or position in which something is situated.
A haunt or hiding place of an animal.
Sports The position of a golf ball that has come to a stop.
To be decided by, dependent on, or up to: The choice lies with you.
Archaic To have sexual intercourse with.
Phrasal Verb(s): lie down
To do little or nothing: He's lying down on the job. lie in
To be in confinement for childbirth.
lie to Nautical
To remain stationary while facing the wind.
lie with
To be decided by, dependent on, or up to: The choice lies with you.
Archaic To have sexual intercourse with.
Idiom(s):
lie/lay low
To keep oneself or one's plans hidden.
To bide one's time but remain ready for action.
[Middle English lien, from Old English licgan; see legh- in Indo-European roots.]
A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.
Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.
v.
lied, ly·ing (lī'ĭng), lies
v.
intr.
To present false information with the intention of deceiving.
To convey a false image or impression: Appearances often lie.
v.
tr.
To cause to be in a specific condition or affect in a specific way by telling falsehoods: You have lied yourself into trouble.
[Middle English, from Old English lyge; see leugh- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to evade or depart from the truth: a witness who lied under oath; didn't equivocate about her real purpose; fibbed to escape being scolded; paltering with an irate customer; didn't prevaricate but answered honestly.
Lie\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lied (l[imac]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Lying (l[imac]"[i^]ng).] [OE. lien, li[yogh]en, le[yogh]en, leo[yogh]en, AS. le['o]gan; akin to D. liegen, OS. & OHG. liogan, G. l["u]gen, Icel. lj[=u]ga, Sw. ljuga, Dan. lyve, Goth. liugan, Russ. lgate.] To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive; to say or do that which is intended to deceive another, when he a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation.
Lie\, v. i. [imp. Lay (l[=a]); p. p. Lain (l[=a]n), (Lien (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Lying.] [OE. lien, liggen, AS. licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen, licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja, Sw. ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth. ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr. le`chos bed, le`xasqai to lie. Cf. Lair, Law, Lay, v. t., Litter, Low, adj.]1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin. The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes. --Dryden. 2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port. 3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; 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. 4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; -- with in. Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances. --Collier. He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen. --Locke. 5. To lodge; to sleep. Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only. --Evelyn. Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens. 6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest. The wind is loud and will not lie. --Shak. 7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. "An appeal lies in this case." --Parsons. Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay down. Some persons blunder by using laid for the preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit of lay, and not of lie. To lie along the shore (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in sight. To lie at the door of, to be imputable to; as, the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door. To lie at the heart, to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple. To lie at the mercy of, to be in the power of. To lie by. (a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the manuscript lying by him. (b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the heat of the day. To lie hard or heavy, to press or weigh; to bear hard. To lie in, to be in childbed; to bring forth young. To lie in one, to be in the power of; to belong to. "As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." --Rom. xii. 18. To lie in the way, to be an obstacle or impediment. To lie in wait, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush. To lie on or upon. (a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result. (b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on. To lie low, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang] To lie on hand, To lie on one's hands, to remain unsold or unused; as, the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands. To lie on the head of, to be imputed to. What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head. --Shak. To lie over. (a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due, as a note in bank. (b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a resolution in a public deliberative body. To lie to (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as near the wind as possible as being the position of greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf. To bring to, under Bring. To lie under, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed by. To lie with. (a) To lodge or sleep with. (b) To have sexual intercourse with. (c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends.
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