1
: the action of laying up or the condition of being laid up
2
: a shot in basketball made from near the basket usually by playing the ball off the backboard
laid up; laying up; lays up
1
: to store up : lay by
2
: to disable or confine with illness or injury
a knee injury laid him up for a week
3
: to take out of active service
Synonyms
Examples of layup in a Sentence
Verb
an eating disorder that would impel her to lay up candy bars in her closet for all-night food binges
Recent Examples on the Web
Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2025
Miami’s decision makers went for the layups last week, releasing three former starters to create roughly $8 million in cap space on Valentines Day.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 18 Feb. 2025
Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 13 Feb. 2025
Now he was laid up with a spinal injury in the Victorian home of a country doctor, his future uncertain.
—Ash Carter, airmail.news, 7 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for layup 
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Noun
Brady Gray made five 3-pointers and David Harris gave Northgate a three-point cushion with a breakaway layup with eight seconds left.
—Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2025
Miami’s decision makers went for the layups last week, releasing three former starters to create roughly $8 million in cap space on Valentines Day.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 18 Feb. 2025
Verb
These bears were laying up fat for their winter’s hibernation, and there must have been a dozen or so of them.
—Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 13 Feb. 2025
Now he was laid up with a spinal injury in the Victorian home of a country doctor, his future uncertain.
—Ash Carter, airmail.news, 7 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for layup
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Dictionary Entries Near layup
Cite this Entry
“Layup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layup. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
layup
1 of 2 noun
lay·up
ˈlā-ˌəp 
: a basketball shot made from near the basket usually by bouncing the ball off the backboard
lay up
2 of 2 verb1
: to store up
2
: to disable or confine with illness or injury
a knee injury laid her up for a week
3
: to take out of active service
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