lying

lying — verb

1. to be in a position where your body is flat against a surface such as a bed, the

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to be in a position where your body is flat against a surface such as a bed, the ground, or a sofa — used when this action is happening now or was happening in the past.

Example

Wei was lying on the grass, watching clouds drift across the sky.

lie + on + surface for horizontal position

A pair of old boots was lying under the bed, covered in dust.

Common collocations
  • lying in bed
  • lying on the floor
  • lying under a tree
  • lying by the pool
  • lying face down
Synonyms
  • reclining

    more formal; suggests a relaxed, comfortable position

  • stretched out

    emphasises full length of the body

  • resting

    focuses on the purpose (to rest) rather than the position

Antonyms
  • standing

    upright position on feet

  • sitting

    body supported by the buttocks, not flat

Grammar Patterns

lie + prepositional phrase (on/in/by/near/under)

Usage Note

Frequently confused with 'laying' (the present participle of 'lay', which needs a direct object: 'laying the book on the table'). 'Lying' in this sense is intransitive — nothing is being placed. The past tense is 'lay' and the past participle is 'lain'.

Common Mistakes

He was laying on the sofa watching TV.
He was lying on the sofa watching TV.
'laying' requires an object (laying WHAT); 'lying' is correct for resting on a surface.

2. to say something that you know is not true, with the intention of making someone

2.verbintransitiveA2
Definition

to say something that you know is not true, with the intention of making someone believe it — for example, telling your parents you finished your homework when you did not, or claiming to have a qualification you never earned.

Example

Anong knew her brother was lying about finishing his homework.

lie + about + noun phrase

Meera was caught lying to her manager about the missing documents.

passive: be caught lying to + person

Common collocations
  • lying about
  • lying to someone
  • caught lying
  • accused of lying
  • lying through your teeth
Synonyms
  • fibbing

    informal; suggests a small, less serious lie

  • being dishonest

    broader; includes deception beyond just spoken words

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

lie + about + noun phrase

lie + to + person

lie + that-clause

Usage Note

This is the only sense of 'lying' where the past tense is regular (lied). The horizontal-position sense uses 'lay' as past tense and 'lain' as past participle. The -ing form 'lying' is shared by both verbs, so context is the only clue.

Common Mistakes

He was laying about the money he had spent.
He was lying about the money he had spent.
the sense of 'not telling the truth' never uses 'laying'.
Phrasal verbs

lie around

phrasal verb

to be left in a place without being put away or cared for; also used for people spending time relaxing instead of being active.

Dirty clothes were lying around the room because nobody had picked them up.

Liang spent the whole weekend just lying around the house watching films.

Idioms

lying in wait

idiom

hidden and ready to attack, catch, or surprise someone — used literally for animals or people, or figuratively for dangers or problems.

The tiger was lying in wait near the watering hole, watching the herd approach.

A surprise exam was lying in wait for students who had not studied.

lying low

idiom

to stay hidden or avoid attracting attention, usually to escape trouble, criticism, or unwanted notice.

After the scandal, Esteban decided to lie low for a few months.

The cat was lying low behind the bushes, waiting for the bird to come closer.

lying — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe information that does not match the facts, but they differ in intent and scope. 'False' is the most neutral — it simply means not true, and can describe mistakes made without any intention to deceive ('a false alarm'). 'Untruthful' implies deliberate falsehood; you use it when you believe the speaker knew the truth and chose not to tell it. 'Dishonest' focuses on the speaker's character rather than a specific statement — a dishonest person lies habitually. 'Misleading' is more subtle: the statement may be technically true, but it is arranged to create a wrong impression ('a misleading graph'). In everyday speech, 'false' is the most common choice; 'lying' as an adjective (e.g. 'lying statement') is reserved for formal or legal contexts where the intent to deceive must be explicitly stated.

false ↗dishonest ↗untruthful ↗misleading ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be caught lying
  • accuse someone of lying
  • lying through your teeth

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishProto-GermanicIndo-European

Modern English 'lying' is the present participle of 'lie', which in fact represents two different Old English verbs whose forms happened to merge over time. The sense of 'being in a horizontal position' comes from Old English 'licgan' (to lie down, be at rest), which traces back through Proto-Germanic *ligjan to the Indo-European root *legh- (to lie, lay). The sense of 'telling a falsehood' comes from a completely different Old English verb: 'leogan' (to tell a lie, deceive), from Proto-Germanic *leugan, from the Indo-European root *leugh- (to tell a lie). Although the base forms of both verbs became 'lie' in Modern English, their past tenses remain distinct — 'lay/lain' for the position sense, and 'lied' for the untruthful sense. The -ing participle 'lying' happened to end up the same for both, which is why this single word carries two such different meanings.