1
as in to spread
to put a layer of on a surface
she lays the butter on so thickly that you hardly taste the bagel
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to employ
chiefly British
to provide with a paying job
lay on more staff for the busy tourist season in the Lake District
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay on
Verb
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Shapiro, a Democrat, said Pennsylvania State Police woke him and his family at 2 a.m. to evacuate them as the fire spread.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025 -
Ultimately, a total of 59 bodies were shipped home for burial, while another 150 were buried in Halifax, spread among three cemeteries.—
Greg Daugherty,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Individuals employed by the government in jobs which were not covered by Social Security previously could not collect Social Security upon retirement because of the offset of their public pension against Social Security to prevent a windfall.—
Wendy Hickey,
Boston Herald,
13 Apr. 2025
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If somehow successful, most domestic manufacturing would employ a lot of robots, not humans.—
Phillip Molnar,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The proposal would apply to single parents earning up to $100,000 per year and couples earning up to $200,000 per year.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
20 Apr. 2025
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If an institution like Harvard cannot resist tyranny when applied to it, then who can? KARL (voice-over): The Ivy League University refuses Trump's latest demands, putting billions in federal funding on the line.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Since hiring French manager Wilfried Nancy in 2023, the Crew have been consistently pleasing to the eye.—
Felipe Cardenas,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
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The news also comes after Prince William made a questionable decision to hire his mother, Princess Diana’s divorce lawyers.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Hailing from San Jose, California, she’s risen through the soccer ranks: She was recruited by Stanford University and four years later drafted number one in the 2022 NWSL Draft.—
Alexandra York,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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Coach Brandon Hopkins called her one of the best pitchers in the nation and expects her to be recruited by top division one programs.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Timothy Martin smeared red and black paint on a case shielding a nearly 150-year-old sculpture by Edgar Degas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2025
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Martin and a companion on April 27, 2023, entered the Washington, DC, museum and smeared washable red and black paint on the case protecting Edgar Degas’s 1881 Little Dancer Aged Fourteen in an effort to bring attention to the climate crisis.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
9 Apr. 2025
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Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20on. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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