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
Jason Beede, Sun Sentinel, 16 May 2026
Mobley missed a dunk and Marcus Sasser drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer to give Detroit a 84-70 lead at the end of the third quarter.
—ABC News, 15 May 2026
Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 13 May 2026
The neo-bluegrass musician took to social media Monday to post photos of himself laid up in a hospital bed, along with multiple X-rays of the nuts and bolts now holding his leg together.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for layup
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Noun
Parks then flipped in a put-back layup to win, 7-6.
—Jason Beede, Sun Sentinel, 16 May 2026
Mobley missed a dunk and Marcus Sasser drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer to give Detroit a 84-70 lead at the end of the third quarter.
—ABC News, 15 May 2026
Verb
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, 13 May 2026
The neo-bluegrass musician took to social media Monday to post photos of himself laid up in a hospital bed, along with multiple X-rays of the nuts and bolts now holding his leg together.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for layup
Cite this Entry
“Layup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layup. Accessed 21 May. 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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