lay on

verb

Definition of lay onnext
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

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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
  1. spread
  2. employ
  3. apply
  4. hire
  5. lay
  6. recruit
  7. smear
Verb
  • The squadron has 196 workers spread across five geographically separate units.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The seed can be spread using a walk-behind or hand-cranked spreader.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of spread
Verb
  • The aircraft’s multi-role design also gives commanders greater flexibility in employing it for different missions rather than limiting it to the traditional air-superiority role associated with earlier Eagle variants.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In a document filed in federal court, an attorney for LAHSA said the signature was applied by a staff member who did not realize the contract was related to the nonprofit that employed Adams Kellum’s husband.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of employ
Verb
  • Fall Cool-season grasses benefit most from fertilizer applied in the fall.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Contrary to popular belief, applying ice or using a tourniquet can worsen the effects of a venomous snakebite by slowing blood flow.
    — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of apply
Verb
  • Dismissing the general manager who hired Espada doesn’t bode well, but Crane made a clear distinction between the two men during the aftermath.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Scott hired Luca Khouri, a Jamaican artist, to photograph the campaign at the end of March, which was styled by Marika-Ella Ames.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of hire
Verb
  • In addition, Autograph Hotels for the second consecutive year will host the festival’s VIP party at the historic Algonquin Hotel, where the New Yorker’s founders gathered to lay the groundwork for the magazine more than a century ago.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Early settlers of the Valley constructed the Salt River's first dams and laid the groundwork for the area's future.
    — Alex Hager, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of lay
Verb
  • In rural areas, food insecurity helps armed groups recruit soldiers and causes disputes over scarce land and water resources.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Basupi, who is from Botswana, leads more than 100 missionaries and helps recruit Africans for cross-cultural mission work.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of recruit
Verb
  • Darker smears around the crater’s rim contain surface rocks and lunar dust called regolith previously altered by solar winds, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation over an extended period of time.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The atmosphere works on them a little bit harder and reduces their strength and smears them a little bit more.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of smear
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

layoffs
lay on
layout
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Cite this Entry

“Lay on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20on. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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