lie

lie¹ W1S2 [laı] v past tense lay [leı] past participle lain [leın] present participle lying third person singular lies

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(flat position)¦

2¦(exist)¦

3¦(place)¦

4¦(future)¦

5¦(condition)¦

6 lie at the heart/centre/root of something

7 lie low

8 lie in wait (for somebody)

9 lie (in) second/third/fourth etc (place)

10 lie heavy on somebody

11¦(dead person)¦

12 lie in state

Phrasal verbs

　lie around

　lie behind something

　lie down

　lie in

　lie up

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1.) ¦(FLAT POSITION)¦

a)

to be in a position in which your body is flat on the floor, on a bed etc

lie 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) [i]also lie down [I always + adverb/preposition]

to put yourself in a position in which your body is flat on the floor or on a bed

lie on

▪ Lie flat on the floor.

lie back

▪ She lay back against the pillows.

c) [I always + adverb/preposition]

to be in a flat position on a surface

lie on/in etc

▪ The papers were lying neatly on his desk.

see usage note ↑lay²

2.) ¦(EXIST)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if a problem, an answer, blame etc lies somewhere, it is caused by, exists, or can be found in that thing, person, or situation

fault/blame/responsibility lies with sb

▪ Part of the blame must lie with social services.

the problem/answer etc lies with/in sth

▪ 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)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

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)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if something lies ahead of you, lies in the future etc, it is going to happen to you in the future

lie 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]

to be in a particular state or condition

lie 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 sth

to be the most important part of something, especially the main cause of it

▪ the issue that lies at the heart of the present conflict

7.) lie low

a) to remain hidden because someone is trying to find you or catch you

▪ We'll have to lie low until tonight.

b) to wait and try not to be noticed by anyone

▪ He decided to lie low for a while after the report came out.

8.) lie in wait (for sb)

a) to remain hidden in a place and wait for someone so that you can attack them

▪ a giant crocodile lying in wait for its prey

b) if something bad lies in wait for you, it is going to happen to you

9.) lie (in) second/third/fourth etc (place)

BrE to be in second, third etc position in a competition

▪ Liverpool are lying third in the football championship.

10.) lie heavy on sb

formal if something lies heavy on you, it makes you feel unhappy

▪ The feelings of guilt lay heavy on him.

11.) ¦(DEAD PERSON)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if someone lies in a particular place, they are buried there

▪ Here lies Percival Smythe (=written on a gravestone) .

12.) lie in state

if an important person who has died lies in state, their body is put in a public place so that people can go and look at the body in order to show their respect for that person

→let sleeping dogs lie at ↑sleep¹ (6)

lie around phr v

1.) lie around (sth)

if something is lying around, it has been left somewhere in an untidy way, rather than being in its proper place

▪ If you leave your shoes lying around like that, you'll trip over them.

▪ Papers and books lay around the room in complete chaos.

2.) if you lie around, you spend time lying down and not doing anything

▪ I felt so lazy just lying around on the beach all day.

lie behind [lie behind sth] phr v

if something lies behind an action, it is the real reason for the action even though it may be hidden

▪ She soon guessed what lay behind his question.

▪ Two basic assumptions lay behind the policy.

lie down phr v

1.) to put yourself in a position in which your body is flat on the floor or on a bed

▪ Just lie down on the bed.

2.) take sth lying down informal

to accept bad treatment without complaining

▪ I'm not going to take this lying down!

lie in phr v

to remain in bed in the morning for longer than usual

→↑lie-in

lie up phr v

to hide or rest somewhere for a period of time

▪ The next day they lay up in a cave.

lie ²

lie² past tense and past participle lied present participle lying third person singular lies

v

1.) to 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.) if a picture, account etc lies, it does not show the true facts or the true situation

▪ Statistics can often lie.

▪ The camera never lies.

lie ³

lie³ S3 [i]n

1.)

something that you say or write that you know is untrue

lie about

▪ I told her a lie about what I was doing.

▪ I always know when he's telling lies .

▪ I told them I was Catholic. I used to be Catholic, so it wasn't a complete lie .

▪ I don't want to hear a bunch of big lies about what happened.

▪ It was obviously a blatant lie .

▪ Jones resorted to deception and barefaced lies .

▪ those little white lies that we all tell

▪ Their whole account of the event was a pack of lies .

▪ For years, he had been living a lie .

2.) give the lie to sth

formal to show that something is untrue

▪ This report gives the lie to the company's claims.

3.) the lie of the land/ the way the land lies

the way that a situation is developing at a particular time

▪ I want to see how the land lies before I decide whether or not to take the job.

4.) (I) tell a lie

BrE spoken used when you realize that something you have just said is not correct

▪ It was £25, no, tell a lie, £35.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

COLLOCATES for sense 1

tell (somebody) a lie

a complete/outright lie

a big lie

a blatant lie (=a shocking lie)

a bald-faced lie American English

a barefaced lie British English (=a shocking lie)

a white lie (=a lie that is not serious, told to avoid upsetting someone)

a pack of lies (=a completely untrue set of statements)

a tissue of lies British English (=a completely untrue set of statements)

live a lie (=pretend that a situation is satisfactory when it is not)

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬