1
as in to spread
to put a layer of on a surface
she lays the butter on so thickly that you hardly taste the bagel
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to employ
chiefly British
to provide with a paying job
lay on more staff for the busy tourist season in the Lake District
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay on
Verb
-
The Islamic Center of San Diego's director and imam, Taha Hassane, pleaded with the public to spread tolerance and love instead of hate.—
Dennis Romero,
NBC news,
19 May 2026 -
The staffers, who are spread across more than twenty front- and back-end departments, are organizing under the name Seattle Art Museum Workers United (SAMWU) under the auspices of the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
The company employs about five hundred people.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Samsung operates 12 fabrication lines, employs over 260,000 people worldwide, and is investing $73 billion in semiconductor capex and R&D this year alone, the largest single-year chip investment by any company in history.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Some portion of eligible people are probably discouraged from applying at all, believing the lottery system to be rigged or pointless.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
Exclusions include clearance items and gift cards, and the discount is applied to the subtotal before tax and shipping/handling at checkout with the promo code.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
But in hiring the three-time Stanley Cup winner, the Ducks earned credibility in terms of coaching acumen and became an attraction for players.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
Stefanie Markman joined the division as head of business & legal affairs, while Alix Teppel has come on board as head of marketing & partnerships, and KC Warnke was hired as head of physical production.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The simulation—and her work—would ultimately lay the foundation for the modern Internet.—
Laura Isensee,
Scientific American,
18 May 2026
-
Netanyahu is also laying the groundwork to cast doubt on any election in which his government does not prevail.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Longoria had been recruited from Valencia as sporting director only six months previously and, despite being only 34 years old, he was installed as president in Eyraud’s place.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
T cells normally recognize other cells that have been infected by a virus or bacterium, or are otherwise abnormal, and either destroy them or recruit other parts of the immune system to do so.—
Amber Dance,
ArsTechnica,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
But the pigment and gum are largely invisible, because harding and Upkett smeared them with white paint used by the Carnegie Museum to cover its walls.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
12 May 2026
-
The Orbánists first ignored them, then smeared them.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20on. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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