lie

I UK [laɪ] / US verb [intransitive]
Word forms "lie":
present tense I/you/we/they lie he/she/it lies present participle lying UK [ˈlaɪɪŋ] / US past tense lay UK [leɪ] / US past participle lain UK [leɪn] / US
***

1)

a) to be in a position in which your body is flat on a surface such as the floor or a bed

lie on/in etc:

She was lying on the bed watching television.

lie still/awake/unconscious etc:

I lay awake worrying about work.

lie on your back/side/stomach etc:

Emma was lying on her back in the sunshine.

b) to put yourself in a position in which your body is flat on a surface

Go and lie on the bed until you feel better.

••

See:

lay

2) to be on a particular surface or in a particular place

There were clothes lying all over the floor.

a) used for saying where a place is

The village lies in a valley.

The farm lay a few miles to the north.

b) formal used for saying where someone is buried

Here lies the body of James McDonald.

3) to be in a particular position in a competition

O'Connell is currently lying in second position in the world championship.

As we go into the third round, Evans is lying in third place.

4) used for talking about things such as plans, ideas, and qualities and what they consist of

He must decide where his future lies (= what he is going to do with his life).

lie in:

The difficulty lies in knowing what to do next.

5) if something lies in a particular state, it is in that state

The castle lay in ruins.

Her bag was lying open on the table.

6) if your interest lies in a particular subject, you are interested in it

My main interest lies in the development of new technology.

7)

a)

Word forms "lie":
past tense lied UK [laɪd] / US past participle lied UK [laɪd] / US to deliberately say something that is not true

It was obvious that she was lying.

lie about:

He had to lie about his age to get into the army.

lie to:

She admitted lying to the police.

lie through your teeth (= say something completely false):

They say they're not married but they're lying through their teeth.

b) if something lies, it shows or suggests facts that are not true

The results of these surveys often lie.

•

let it/things lie — to not do or say anything because you might make a difficult situation worse

lie ahead/before/in store — if something lies ahead, it is going to happen to you in the future

A grand future lies ahead of him.

lie in wait (for someone) — to hide so that you can attack someone when they pass you; if something unpleasant is lying in wait for you, it is going to happen to you

Little did I know what troubles were lying in wait for me when I got home.

- lie at the heart of something

- lie at the root of something

- lie heavy on someone

- lie in state

- lie low

Phrasal verbs:

- lie about

- lie ahead

- lie back

- lie behind

- lie down

- lie in

- lie with

II UK [laɪ] / US noun [countable]
Word forms "lie":
singular lie plural lies
**

something that you say or write that is not true and that you know is not true

He told them he could drive, but it was a lie.

tell a lie/tell lies:

Are you accusing me of telling lies?

tell someone a lie:

All children tell their parents little lies sometimes.

blatant/complete/downright lie (= something that is completely false):

He was uncomfortable about telling such a blatant lie.

•

Collocations:
Adjectives frequently used with lie
▪  barefaced, blatant, complete, downright, outright, transparent

- give the lie to something

- I tell a lie

- the lie of the land

See:

live I, pack II