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
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
Mikai Bruce, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Brunson knifed through the lane for a layup at the rim to put the Knicks up one with under a minute left, and Haliburton responded with a crossover on Brunson, then a dime to Andrew Nembhard to put the Pacers back up one.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
He is badly bruised however and will be laid up for some time.
—Kay Johnson, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for layup
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Noun
Here, Haliburton forces Brunson to switch onto him, which then causes Hart to be caught ball watching which led to Nembhard slipping backdoor for the wide open layup.
—Mikai Bruce, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Brunson knifed through the lane for a layup at the rim to put the Knicks up one with under a minute left, and Haliburton responded with a crossover on Brunson, then a dime to Andrew Nembhard to put the Pacers back up one.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
Verb
Most players would have just laid up out to the right, just like even Bryson DeChambeau did minutes later from a similar spot.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
He is badly bruised however and will be laid up for some time.
—Kay Johnson, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for layup
Cite this Entry
“Layup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layup. Accessed 1 Jun. 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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