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
Arkansas Online, 1 Feb. 2026
Officials did not call a foul after Dort made contact with Fears during a layup attempt.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Female moths can lay up to 500 eggs at a time.7 Pantry moths are most destructive in their larval stage, so discouraging this stage will help prevent the infestation from spreading.
—Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for layup
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Noun
Addi Mack made a layup and made two free throws to get Maryland within two with 27 seconds remaining but Oregon made 5 of 6 free throws to seal the win.
—Arkansas Online, 1 Feb. 2026
Officials did not call a foul after Dort made contact with Fears during a layup attempt.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
The only time the Fitzgerald made it to its homeport of Milwaukee was when the ship was laid up during the 1959 steel strike, from June to October.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Female moths can lay up to 500 eggs at a time.7 Pantry moths are most destructive in their larval stage, so discouraging this stage will help prevent the infestation from spreading.
—Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 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 1 Feb. 2026.
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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