lay by

verb

Definition of lay bynext
1
as in to discard
to get rid of as useless or unwanted a politician who had laid by his principles years ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to store
to put (something of future use or value) in a safe or secret place ever since the last hurricane caught them unprepared, they have laid by emergency supplies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay by
  1. discard
  2. store
  3. dump
  4. lay in
  5. ditch
  6. stash
  7. unload
  8. lay up
Verb
  • The first-stage booster that had been tapped during the original attempts was discarded for a new booster.
    Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2025
  • That’s $57 billion in gold and other components irresponsibly discarded.
    David Joosten, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Definition of discard
Verb
  • Cooking the pasta separately from the soup prevents it from overcooking, becoming mushy, and continuing to absorb up the broth when stored.
    Nicole Hopper, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Mayotte issued a red alert and people were ordered to stay in their homes or find a solid shelter, and store food and water, as Tropical Storm Dikeledi brought heavy rains and strong winds to once again pound France’s poorest territory.
    Gerald Imray, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
Definition of store
Verb
  • Roth could dump the ROM and analyze functionality as a result.
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Major winter storms have dumped snow and cold weather on the Mid-Atlantic and the South.
    Alejandra Borunda, NPR, 13 Jan. 2025
Definition of dump
Verb
  • Carter has laid in state at the U.S. Capitol since Tuesday and is in the Washington National Cathedral for today’s funeral service.
    Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2025
  • In another clip, Legend was captured lying on the bed beside his wife while their dogs lay in between.
    Gabrielle Rockson, People.com, 9 Jan. 2025
Definition of lay in
Verb
  • Some will give you immediate satisfaction (such as ditching paper and going digital), while others will pay off over time (like focusing on decluttering one space at a time).
    Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Meanwhile, Johnson enters the new year trying to ditch the missteps and the controversies that have left his political standing in the dust.
    Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of ditch
Verb
  • Castellano must remain in the majors all season or be offered back for half of the $100,000 pick fee, so the Twins could stash him in long relief.
    Aaron Gleeman, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
  • His mother stashed the knives above a kitchen cabinet for her and Richard’s safety.
    Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of stash
Verb
  • That might not sound uncommon, but Bucs fans have seen a quarterback who would rather unload a ball in a hurry than risk being tackled by a blitzing linebacker.
    John Romano, Orlando Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2025
  • McAfee unloaded on Colts players, coaches and culture.
    Mike Sando, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of unload
Verb
  • The vote will be far from a lay up for the affable Louisiana conservative, even with the endorsement of President-elect Trump, the party’s undisputed leader.
    Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Females can lay up to 8 eggs, or nits, per day and adults can live for up to 30 days on a person's head, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
    Gabrielle Chenault, The Tennessean, 21 Nov. 2024
Definition of lay up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near lay by

lay back

lay by

lay down

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Lay by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20by. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on lay by

Britannica English: Translation of lay by for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.