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
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Shapiro, a Democrat, said Pennsylvania State Police woke him and his family at 2 a.m. to evacuate them as the fire spread.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025 -
Blame would eventually be spread far and wide, but absolute accountability proved complex and elusive.—
Michael Peregrine,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The group represents 122 dealerships that employ 12,000 workers and generated a combined $859 million in sales taxes in 2024.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
13 Apr. 2025
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According to the current budget, the City Attorney’s Office employs just under 425 people and will spend $85 million this year.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In other words, the same asset that feels untouchable when trying to borrow from a bank suddenly becomes fully visible when applying for student aid.—
Ilona Limonta-Volkova,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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The fashion house’s artisans began experimenting with the material—which is extremely lightweight, strong, and pliable—and eventually created handles out of them by gently bending the stalks with fire and then applying many coats of lacquer.—
Diana Budds,
Architectural Digest,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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To this point, much of the flak created by key contract talks dragging on has flown the way of Hughes, the man Liverpool’s owners at Fenway Sports Group hired for the post-Jurgen Klopp era.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
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In addition to hiring Fletcher the previous summer, Shero had recently supplemented the hockey operations staff with Tom Fitzgerald, a former NHL player.—
Rob Rossi,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Hailing from San Jose, California, she’s risen through the soccer ranks: She was recruited by Stanford University and four years later drafted number one in the 2022 NWSL Draft.—
Alexandra York,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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Coach Brandon Hopkins called her one of the best pitchers in the nation and expects her to be recruited by top division one programs.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Martin and a companion on April 27, 2023, entered the Washington, DC, museum and smeared washable red and black paint on the case protecting Edgar Degas’s 1881 Little Dancer Aged Fourteen in an effort to bring attention to the climate crisis.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
9 Apr. 2025
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Timothy Martin smeared red and black paint on a case shielding a nearly 150-year-old sculpture by Edgar Degas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2025
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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 22 Apr. 2025.
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