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
Synonyms
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
Tom Schardin, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
UConn got within two points in the final 30 seconds, but Zee Spearman sank a dagger layup for the Lady Vols that put the Huskies down two scores with 12 seconds to play.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2025
Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
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
See all Example Sentences for layup 
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Noun
In the loss to Farmington, senior Isaac Snell made a driving layup with 1:09 to play to tie the game at 66-66.
—Tom Schardin, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
UConn got within two points in the final 30 seconds, but Zee Spearman sank a dagger layup for the Lady Vols that put the Huskies down two scores with 12 seconds to play.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2025
Verb
The Benedict sawmill is laid up due to the weather.
—Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
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
See all Example Sentences for layup
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Dictionary Entries Near layup
Cite this Entry
“Layup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layup. Accessed 11 Feb. 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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