From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlielie1 /laɪ/ ●●● S2 W1 verb (past tense lay /leɪ/, past participle lain /leɪn/, present participle lying, third person singular lies) 1 flat position a) [intransitive]HORIZONTAL to be in a position in which your body is flat on the floor, on a bed etclie on/in etc He was lying on the bed smoking a cigarette. Don’t lie in the sun for too long.lie there For a few minutes he just lay there.lie still/awake etc She would lie awake worrying. The dog was lying dead on the floor. b) (also lie down) [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]DOWN to put yourself in a position in which your body is flat on the floor or on a bedlie on Lie flat on the floor.lie back She lay back against the pillows. c) [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]HORIZONTAL to be in a flat position on a surfacelie on/in etc The papers were lying neatly on his desk.2 exist [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]EXIST if a problem, an answer, blame etc lies somewhere, it is caused by, exists, or can be found in that thing, person, or situationfault/blame/responsibility lies with somebody Part of the blame must lie with social services.the problem/answer etc lies with/in something The difficulty lies in providing sufficient evidence. The strength of the book lies in the fact that the material is from classroom experience.herein/therein lies the problem/dilemma etc And herein lies the key to their achievements.3 place [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]PLACE if a town, village, etc lies in a particular place, it is in that place The town lies in a small wooded valley. The Tasman Sea lies between Tasmania and Australia.4 future [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]FUTURE if something lies ahead of you, lies in the future etc, it is going to happen to you in the futurelie ahead How will we cope with the difficulties that lie ahead?lie before A blank and empty future lay before me. I was wondering what lay in store for us.5 condition [linking verb]BE to be in a particular state or conditionlie empty/open/hidden etc The book lay open on the table. The town now lay in ruins. 6 → lie at the heart/centre/root of something7 → lie low8 → lie in wait (for somebody)9 → lie (in) second/third/fourth etc (place)10 → lie heavy on somebody11 dead person [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]MX if someone lies in a particular place, they are buried there Here lies Percival Smythe (=written on a gravestone).12 → lie in state → let sleeping dogs lie at sleep1(7) → lie around → lie behind something → lie down → lie in → lie up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lie• The camera doesn't lie.• Public servants, like children with guns, learn to lie.• I looked at her face and just knew that she was lying.• Movie stars always lie about their age.• The children's clothes were lying all over the bedroom floor.• Almost every night I lie awake in bed worrying about my family.• When they found him, he was lying face down in a pool of blood.• Now, with the founder gone, these ominous flaws lay glaringly exposed.• The jelly cupboard was on its back, its contents lying in a heap in the corner of the bottom shelf.• I spent most of the morning lying in bed.• Now the town lay in ruins.• The immorality lies in the inherent wrongness of people deliberately killing other people.• Her packed suitcase was lying near the door.• It doesn't set out to lie, of course, but it sometimes succeeds.• The baby was lying on his back in his crib, perfectly content.• We were both lying on our backs, our heads on our clasped hands.• Libby switched off the light and lay on the couch, staring into the darkness.• She was dressed in a silk kimono and lying on the daybed when he went in.• Lie on the floor and put your legs in the air.• Several letters were lying on the table.• He lay on the track for five minutes before being rescued by two friends who were also out riding.• Frank was lying there flat on his back, snoring away.• "The witness was lying through his teeth, " said Davis, "and should be charged with perjury."• Don't lie to me! I know where you were last night.• Recent storms destroyed a wall that had lain undisturbed underwater for thousands of years.lie on/in etc• The answer lies in a comparison between the conditions under which it worked before the war and works now.• The puzzle lay in his certainty that his feeling for her found an echo in her own feelings.• It was just lying on its poor back with its legs stuck up and a dreadfully resigned look on its dear face!• She was still lying on the carpet five minutes later when he left the apartment.• The first answer lies in the choice of books.• Since no Pareto gain is possible, every point such as C lying on the frontier must be Pareto-efficient.• Tim was lying on the sand, looking in the direction the man had gone.• The secret lies in those cryptic symbols that begin every web address.fault/blame/responsibility lies with somebody• The Communist Party's paralysis is one factor, but the prime responsibility lies with Labour's manic political caution.• Labour spokesman David Oakenson says there's evidence to suggest the blame lies with Swindon Police.• Clients will resist carrying these costs if the fault lies with the accountant.• If the case is not progressing, then the fault lies with the auditor.• The real blame lies with the licence granted to employers by a statutory regime which stacks every deck in their favour.• I am afraid the blame lies with the saboteurs.• Where the fault lies with the structure of the job there is little point in blaming the holder of the job.lie ahead• But remember, dangers lie ahead.• But that life was over now and a new one lay ahead.• Expectant parents should do their best to find time to talk with each other about what lies ahead.• Following the row between them, she had been frankly dreading the evening which had lain ahead.• Hillary is nothing if not aware of the pitfalls that lie ahead.• It is my first view of the road that lies ahead.• Obviously they had no idea what lay ahead after they had crossed the bridges and got close to the enemy positions.• Months of testing still lie ahead, with work being done at laboratories across the country.lie empty/open/hidden etc• One result of globalization is the exposure of management inadequacies that have long lain hidden.• We had managed to enter Bahdu, had been accepted, and the road to Aussa lay open.• Today, as the pavilions lie empty and neglected, they look like ossified tents - silk turned to stone.• His part was to lie hidden here until the main body arrived, and all the household poured out to meet them.• Beyond, the coast of Shikoku lay hidden in mist.• The man lifted up the newspaper, which was lying open on the counter.• In dismay Paige realised that the atlas lay open to his inspection.• The army sent to meet this threat was decimated at Adrianople: the road to Rome now lay open to the barbarians.lielie2 ●●● S3 W3 verb (lied, lying, lies) [intransitive] 1 LIE/TELL A LIEto deliberately tell someone something that is not true I could tell from her face that she was lying.lie to I would never lie to you.lie about She lied about her age.lie through your teeth (=say something that is completely untrue)2 UNTRUEif a picture, account etc lies, it does not show the true facts or the true situation Statistics can often lie. The camera never lies.THESAURUSlie/tell a lie to deliberately tell someone something that is not trueShe had lied to protect her son.Are you accusing me of telling lies?fib verb [intransitive] informal to lie, especially about something that is not very important – used especially by childrenDan’s fibbing. I didn’t hit him.make something up/invent something to invent a story, explanation etc in order to deceive someoneI didn’t want to go so I made up an excuse and said I was busy.He invented the tale to prevent his parents from finding out the truth.mislead verb [transitive] to make someone believe something that is not true by giving them false or incomplete informationThe government misled the public over the war.be economical with the truth to only tell someone part of the truth – often used when saying indirectly that someone is lyingHe admitted that he had perhaps been economical with the truth.perjure yourself/commit perjury to tell a lie in a court of lawHe had perjured himself in court.Witnesses will be prosecuted if they commit perjury. → See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
lie• Public servants, like children with guns, learn to lie.• Now, with the founder gone, these ominous flaws lay glaringly exposed.• The jelly cupboard was on its back, its contents lying in a heap in the corner of the bottom shelf.• The immorality lies in the inherent wrongness of people deliberately killing other people.• It doesn't set out to lie, of course, but it sometimes succeeds.• We were both lying on our backs, our heads on our clasped hands.• She was dressed in a silk kimono and lying on the daybed when he went in.• He lay on the track for five minutes before being rescued by two friends who were also out riding.lie about• I was pretty sure she was lying about where she was.lielie3 ●●● S3 noun 1 [countable]LIE/TELL A LIE something that you say or write that you know is untrue I always know when he’s telling lies.lie about I knew that soon she would hear the lies about me.2 → give the lie to something3 → the lie of the land4 → (I) tell a lie → live a lie at live1(16)COLLOCATIONSverbstell (somebody) a lieHe got into trouble for telling a lie.believe a lieHow could you believe his lies?spread lies (=tell them to a lot of people)How dare you spread such vicious lies?adjectivesa complete/total/outright lie (=something that is completely untrue)Of course the whole thing was a complete lie.She didn't want to tell her mother an outright lie.a white lie (=a small lie that you tell someone for good reasons, for example to avoid hurting their feelings)We all have to tell white lies sometimes.a downright lie (=used when something is clearly a lie, especially when you feel annoyed)That’s a downright lie. I never said any such thing! a vicious lie (=one that is very unkind and very untrue)He told the court that it was a vicious lie from beginning to end.a blatant lie (=an obvious lie)He felt sure Adams was not convinced by such blatant lies.a barefaced lie British English, a bald-faced lie American English (=an obvious lie that is told with no sense of shame)How can you stand there and tell me such a barefaced lie?an elaborate lieHer parents didn’t realise that it was all an elaborate lie.a big lieThe lawyer said it was a ‘big lie’ that Jones had not received the message.phrasesa pack of lies informal (also a tissue of lies British English formal) (=a lot of lies)Everything he had told me was a pack of lies.COMMON ERRORS ► Don’t say ‘say a lie’. Say tell a lie.THESAURUSlie noun [countable] something you say or write that you know is untrueWould you tell lies to protect a friend?The allegation is a complete lie.white lie noun [countable] informal a lie that you tell to avoid upsetting someoneWe all tell white lies sometimes.fib noun [countable] informal a lie, especially about something that is not very important – used especially by childrenHave you been telling fibs?porky noun [countable usually plural] British English informal a lie – a very informal useHe’s been telling porkies again.falsehood noun [countable] formal a statement that is not true, especially one that is intended to give people the wrong idea about someone or somethingHe described the allegations as malicious falsehoods.untruth noun [countable] formal a lie – used especially when you want to avoid saying the word lieSome workers go off and tell untruths about the organisations for which they are working. fabrication noun [countable, uncountable] formal a story or claim that someone has invented in order to deceive someone, or the act of doing thisThe claim was described as a fabrication by the police prosecutor.He dismissed the charges as pure fabrication.libel noun [uncountable] law the crime of writing lies that could make people have a bad opinion of someone, especially in a newspaper or magazineShe sued the newspaper for libel.libel lawsslander noun [countable, uncountable] law the crime of speaking lies that could make people have a bad opinion of someone, or an untrue statement which does thisHe’s threatening to sue them for slander.a slander on the good name of the companyLinking his name to terrorism was a slander.Examples from the Corpus
lie• That would be a bit of a lie.• Jim said that he was planning to stay home and watch TV, but I knew it was a lie.• Jean Cocteau said that history is facts which become lies and that legends are lies which become history.• Davenport said the congressman's allegations were nothing more than "downright lies".• Otherwise, it would sound like some kind of weird, fawning lie.• He called the report "a pack of lies".• And yet parents press children to be truthful, admonishing against wild stories and silly lies.• How can the newspapers print all these lies about her?• But she was afraid that some evil tongue might poison me with lies ... 