8 to lie in state → see state
9 to take something lying down → see take ➋
▸ lie around in BRIT, also use lie about PHRASAL VERB If things are left lying around or lying about , they are not tidied away but left casually somewhere where they can be seen. □ [V P ] People should be careful about their possessions and not leave them lying around.
▸ lie behind PHRASAL VERB If you refer to what lies behind a situation or event, you are referring to the reason the situation exists or the event happened. □ [V P n] It seems that what lay behind the clashes was disagreement over the list of candidates.
▸ lie down PHRASAL VERB When you lie down , you move into a horizontal position, usually in order to rest or sleep. □ [V P ] Why don't you go upstairs and lie down for a bit?
➋ lie ◆◇◇ /la I / (lies , lying , lied )
1 N‑COUNT A lie is something that someone says or writes which they know is untrue. □ 'Who else do you work for?'—'No one.'—'That's a lie.' □ I've had enough of your lies. □ All the boys told lies about their adventures.
2 → see also white lie
3 VERB If someone is lying , they are saying something which they know is not true. □ [V ] I know he's lying. □ [V + about ] If asked, he lies about his age. □ [V + to ] We are surprisingly poor at judging when people are lying to us. □ [V -ing] He reportedly called her 'a lying little twit'. ● ly|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Lying is something that I will not tolerate.
4 VERB If you say that something lies , you mean that it does not express or represent something accurately. □ [V ] The camera can sometimes lie.
5 → see also lying SYNONYMS lie NOUN ➋1
falsehood: He accused them of knowingly spreading falsehoods about him.
fabrication: This story is total fabrication.
deception: You've been the victim of a rather cruel deception.
untruth: The Advertising Standards Authority accused estate agents of using blatant untruths. COLLOCATIONS lie VERB ➊6
noun + lie : blame, fault, problem, responsibility; answer, solution; interest, strength
lie + adverb : elsewhere NOUN ➋1
adjective + lie : blatant, downright, outright
verb + lie : peddle, spread, tell; expose
lie de|tec|tor (lie detectors ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] A lie detector is an electronic machine used mainly by the police to find out whether a suspect is telling the truth. □ …the results of a lie detector test.
lie -down N‑SING If you have a lie-down , you have a short rest, usually in bed. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ She had departed upstairs for a lie-down.
lie -in (lie-ins ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you have a lie-in , you rest by staying in bed later than usual in the morning. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ I have a lie-in on Sundays.
lieu /ljuː , [AM ] luː /
1 PHRASE If you do, get, or give one thing in lieu of another, you do, get, or give it instead of the other thing, because the two things are considered to have the same value or importance. [FORMAL ] □ He left what little furniture he owned to his landlord in lieu of rent.
2 PHRASE If you do, get, or give something in lieu , you do, get, or give it instead of something else, because the two things are considered to have the same value or importance. [mainly BRIT , FORMAL ] □ …an increased salary or time off in lieu.
Lieut. Lieut. is a written abbreviation for lieutenant when it is a person's title. □ …Lieut. J. J. Doughty.
lieu|ten|ant /lefte nənt, [AM ] luː-/ (lieutenants )
1 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE A lieutenant is an officer of low rank in the army, navy, marines, or air force, or in the American police force. □ Lieutenant Campbell ordered the man at the wheel to steer for the gunboat. ● N‑TITLE Lieutenant is also a combining form. □ …Lieutenant Colonel Gale Carter.
2 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] If you refer to someone as a person's lieutenant , you mean they are that person's assistant, especially their main assistant, in an organization or activity. □ He was my right-hand man, my lieutenant on the field, a cool, calculated footballer.
lieu|te n|ant go v|er|nor (lieutenant governors )
1 N‑COUNT A lieutenant governor is an elected official who acts as the deputy of a state governor in the United States. [AM ]
2 N‑COUNT A lieutenant governor is an official elected by the Canadian government to act as a representative of the British king or queen in a province of Canada.
life ◆◆◆ /la I f/ (lives /la I vz/)
1 N‑UNCOUNT Life is the quality which people, animals, and plants have when they are not dead, and which objects and substances do not have. □ …a baby's first minutes of life. □ Amnesty International opposes the death penalty as a violation of the right to life. □ …the earth's supply of life-giving oxygen.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can use life to refer to things or groups of things which are alive. □ Is there life on Mars? □ The book includes some useful facts about animal and plant life.