lair

1 of 2

noun

1
dialectal British : a resting or sleeping place : bed
2
a
: the resting or living place of a wild animal : den
tracked the bear back to its lair
b
: a refuge or place for hiding
a villain's lair

lair

2 of 2

verb

laired; lairing; lairs

transitive verb

chiefly Scotland : to cause to sink in mire

intransitive verb

chiefly Scotland : wallow

Examples of lair in a Sentence

Noun tracking the bear back to its lair She runs the project from her private lair in the suburbs.
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Photo: Columbia County & Northern Dutchess MLS The perfect house for a villain looking for a new lair and is both concerned enough about the environment to want to go electric but not concerned enough to scale down. Clio Chang, Curbed, 20 Feb. 2025 According to the authors, the spiders appeared to have left their webs or lairs and migrated to die when exposed to the fungus. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025 Today, the cave is a hot dining destination with patrons reserving tables months in advance to have a meal in the limestone lair. Caitlin Palumbo, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025 The story is rife with twists and turns and Austin Powers–like villains, including an eyepatch-wearing former Nazi who lives in a lair at the top of a mountain. Andrea Duncan-Mao, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lair

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English leger; akin to Old High German legar bed, Old English licgan to lie — more at lie

Verb

Scots lair mire

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1560, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of lair was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lair. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

lair

noun
ˈla(ə)r,
ˈle(ə)r
1
: the den or resting place of a wild animal
2

More from Merriam-Webster on lair

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