laying an egg

phrase

present participle of lay an egg
1
as in fumbling
to make a mistake His book report was going perfectly until he laid an egg and got the main character's name wrong.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in collapsing
to be unsuccessful The gymnast nailed perfect landings on her first two vaults but really laid an egg on the third.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laying an egg
  1. dropping the ball
  2. falling short
  3. falling flat
Phrase
  • Last year, the fair attracted almost 330,000 visitors — no sign that Sedalia is dropping the ball.
    — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
Definition of dropping the ball
Phrase
  • Josh Allen and the Bills are tired of falling short in the playoffs.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Orlando finishes Phase One with five points, falling short of advancing in one of the top four spots.
    — Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of falling short
Phrase
  • The resilient fill bounces back night after night, maintaining its shape without falling flat.
    — V BRAND STORIES, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But the execution was dead on arrival, with the whole thing falling flat on its face.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of falling flat
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

laying
laying an egg
laying away
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Laying an egg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laying%20an%20egg. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

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 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?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All