as in to store
to put (something of future use or value) in a safe or secret place
an eating disorder that would impel her to lay up candy bars in her closet for all-night food binges
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lay up
Females can lay up to 8 eggs, or nits, per day and adults can live for up to 30 days on a person's head, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
—
Gabrielle Chenault, The Tennessean, 21 Nov. 2024
Until recently, woven sheets of carbon fiber had to be laid up by hand in a mold, impregnated with resin, then cured for hours in an autoclave oven.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2012
Adults can live up to one week, spending that time laying up to 200 eggs in the top layers of moist plant soil.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2024
Some players will lay up short of the fairway bunkers to leave themselves a comfortable full club into the green.
—Brody Miller, The Athletic, 10 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lay up 
Gabrielle Chenault, The Tennessean, 21 Nov. 2024
Until recently, woven sheets of carbon fiber had to be laid up by hand in a mold, impregnated with resin, then cured for hours in an autoclave oven.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2012
Adults can live up to one week, spending that time laying up to 200 eggs in the top layers of moist plant soil.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2024
Some players will lay up short of the fairway bunkers to leave themselves a comfortable full club into the green.
—Brody Miller, The Athletic, 10 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lay up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay up
Verb
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Iron Mountain’s mine that stores government retirement records was ripped as an example of inefficiency by Musk during a visit to the Oval Office.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
17 Feb. 2025
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When the monitors arrived on Oct. 16, Mansour said, the city stored them in a warehouse on Goose Island.—
John Lippert,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The foundation stone for the 1.4 gigawatt Gorakhpur plant in the state of Haryana was laid in 2014, for instance, yet it is not expected to produce a single joule of energy until 2032 — 18 years later.—
Ganesh Rao,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2025
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The eggs were laid in the nest overlooking Big Bear Lake.—
Helena Wegner,
Sacramento Bee,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
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First, there’s gear, or technology—the gadgets and doodads that must stash in your carryon alongside a laptop and cellphone.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
7 Feb. 2025
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My mom stashed everyone’s documents in her safe place underneath the mattress.—
Araceli Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
4 Feb. 2025
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Thesaurus Entries Near lay up
Cite this Entry
“Lay up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20up. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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