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
Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 4 June 2025
The Lynx defeated the... Napheesa Collier #24 of the Minnesota Lynx attempts a layup against Natasha Mack #4 of the Phoenix Mercury during the game at Footprint Center on August 28, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 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
In January, a group of teens broke into a pair of R trains parked along layup tracks in Brooklyn and took them for a spin.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 4 June 2025
The Lynx defeated the... Napheesa Collier #24 of the Minnesota Lynx attempts a layup against Natasha Mack #4 of the Phoenix Mercury during the game at Footprint Center on August 28, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 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 10 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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