From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishinlayin‧lay /ˈɪnleɪ/ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]DHT a material which has been set into the surface of furniture, floors etc for decoration, or the pattern made by this a cedarwood casket with gold inlay2 [countable]MH a substance used by a dentist to fill a hole in a decayed tooth
Examples from the Corpus
inlay• However, its hardness makes it slightly less versatile when it comes to surface decoration such as inlays.• The dazzling inlay of precious stones was long ago picked out with daggers.• Again the patina is a deep black and contrasts with brightly polished silver, brass and gold inlay decoration.• A gaze, cool as the round marble inlay of a chair back.• I used a very interesting rectangular frame, with a marquetry inlay.• Prominent strips of inlay were left unfinished; awkward patches of pink sandstone intrude into the glistening white of the dome.• But domestic social pressures, with their own inlay of politics, are generally more powerful.• The guitar has a mother-of-pearl inlay on its fret board.• The silver inlays show up as pale areas because they are denser than brass to X-rays. 