lay on

verb

Definition of lay onnext
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

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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
  1. spread
  2. employ
  3. apply
  4. hire
  5. lay
  6. recruit
  7. smear
Verb
  • Mellencamp, 45, was initially diagnosed with melanoma that spread.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But the war’s unintended consequences have spread far beyond the Middle East, affecting global security, diminishing America’s global standing, and potentially providing its adversaries with an opportunity to expand their influence.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of spread
Verb
  • This metric measures the proportion of the working-age population that is either employed or actively seeking employment.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The same restraint applies to professors, who will not be permitted to employ AI to write syllabuses or course materials.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of employ
Verb
  • The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning that applies to more than 1 million people in San Diego County, mostly across inland valleys, foothills and mountains where high temperatures will approach or exceed 95 to 114 degrees.
    — Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The study found the models understood concepts such as the Kelly criterion and Merton share in theory but struggled to apply appropriate risk management when making actual simulated trading decisions.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of apply
Verb
  • Dismissing the general manager who hired Espada doesn’t bode well, but Crane made a clear distinction between the two men during the aftermath.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Scott hired Luca Khouri, a Jamaican artist, to photograph the campaign at the end of March, which was styled by Marika-Ella Ames.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of hire
Verb
  • In addition, Autograph Hotels for the second consecutive year will host the festival’s VIP party at the historic Algonquin Hotel, where the New Yorker’s founders gathered to lay the groundwork for the magazine more than a century ago.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Early settlers of the Valley constructed the Salt River's first dams and laid the groundwork for the area's future.
    — Alex Hager, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of lay
Verb
  • Serving as the territory’s secretary of education between 2013 and 2017, overseeing all of its public schools from kindergarten through high school, he was recruited to Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 as a teacher.
    — Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Somebody had to recruit before UCF was a recognizable national brand.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of recruit
Verb
  • Darker smears around the crater’s rim contain surface rocks and lunar dust called regolith previously altered by solar winds, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation over an extended period of time.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The atmosphere works on them a little bit harder and reduces their strength and smears them a little bit more.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of smear
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.

Browse Nearby Words

layoffs
lay on
layout
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Cite this Entry

“Lay on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20on. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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