lie behind
phrasal verb
lay behind; lain behind; lying behind; lies behind
: to be the cause of (something)
Greed lies behind the higher prices.
Examples of lie behind in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Austin gained nearly 60,000 residents between 2023 and 2024.
Between the lines: International migration lies behind this latest population spike.
—
Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 13 Mar. 2025
The relative scarcity of data points lies behind the fluctuating risk assessment, which, until yesterday, had pegged the asteroid’s probability of impact at 2.6 percent.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2025
Eponyms such as these provide a tantalizing backstory to our everyday language, but how many of us are aware of the eponymous character—the cursed figure of Tantalus—who lies behind the word?
—Daniel Seifert, JSTOR Daily, 5 Feb. 2025
What lies behind the move, and what could the impact be?
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lie behind
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Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 13 Mar. 2025
The relative scarcity of data points lies behind the fluctuating risk assessment, which, until yesterday, had pegged the asteroid’s probability of impact at 2.6 percent.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2025
Eponyms such as these provide a tantalizing backstory to our everyday language, but how many of us are aware of the eponymous character—the cursed figure of Tantalus—who lies behind the word?
—Daniel Seifert, JSTOR Daily, 5 Feb. 2025
What lies behind the move, and what could the impact be?
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lie behind
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lie behind.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lie%20behind. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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