1
: a person who is not a member of the clergy
The parish council consisted of both clergy and laymen.
2
: a person who does not belong to a particular profession or who is not expert in some field
For a layman, he knows a lot about the law.
Did you know?
Layman is a closed compound of lay man. Lay is an adjective that means "of or relating to the people of a religious faith (but not of its clergy)." The origins of lay and layman go back to Greek laikos, meaning "of the people." Layman was originally used to distinguish between non-clerical people and the clergy before being used to distinguish non-professionals from professionals in a field (such as law or medicine).
Examples of layman in a Sentence
For a layman, he knows a lot about the law.
He's an important layman in his church.
Recent Examples on the Web
Although made for a range of sports instead of boating, the Champion launched as Keds’ first shoe in 1916, and the layman would have a hard time telling it apart from the Authentic with nearly identical stitching forming its upper.
—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
26 June 2026
The team is more than happy to translate this to layman’s terms, all while pouring tastes of its cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, grenache, and sauvignon blanc.
—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
16 June 2026
In the United States, the layman can do this any day of the week, especially Saturday, if the weather is nice.
—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
What may shock the layman, though, is that all three of those schools also have strong baseball programs as well.
—
Austin Perry Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for layman
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Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
26 June 2026
The team is more than happy to translate this to layman’s terms, all while pouring tastes of its cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, grenache, and sauvignon blanc.
—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
16 June 2026
In the United States, the layman can do this any day of the week, especially Saturday, if the weather is nice.
—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
What may shock the layman, though, is that all three of those schools also have strong baseball programs as well.
—
Austin Perry Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for layman
Cite this Entry
“Layman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layman. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
layman
noun
lay·man
ˈlā-mən 
: a person who is not a member of the clergy or a member of a particular profession
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