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lair

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lair¹

  • /ˈlɛə̯/ UK
  • [ˈlɛə̯] ~ [ˈlɛː] UK
  • /ˈlɛː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [ˈlɛː] British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈleː/ Australia
  • [ˈleː] Australia
  • /ˈle̝ə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈle̝ə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈliə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈliə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈlɛː/ General South African
  • [ˈlɛː] General South African
  • /ˈlɜː(ɹ)/
  • [ˈlɜː(ɹ)]
  • /ˈlɛɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
  • [ˈlɛɚ] ~ [ˈlɛɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
  • /ˈleɾ/ Scotland
  • [ˈleːɾ] Scotland

Sounds like layer (some pronuciations), leer (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English leir, leire, lair, lare, from Old English leġer (“couch, bed”), from Proto-Germanic *legrą, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.

noun lairs

  1. A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground. O dainty dew, O morning dew / That gleamed in the world's first dawn, did you / And the sweet grass and manful oaks / Give lair and rest / To him who toadwise sits and croaks / His death-behest?

    Similar: burrow, den, holt

  2. A shed or shelter for domestic animals.
  3. figuratively A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway. ...Van Helsing stood up and said, "Now, my dear friends, we go forth to our terrible enterprise. Are we all armed, as we were on that night when first we visited our enemy's lair. Armed against ghostly as well as carnal attack?"

    Similar: den, hide-out

  4. UK, dialectal A bed or resting place. Then would I in Plenty's lap, For the first time take a nap; Falling back in easy lair, Sweetly slumb'ring in my chair;
  5. Scotland A grave; a cemetery plot. […] but few knew the reason, and some thought it was because the deceased were strangers, and had no regular lair. I dressed the two bonny orphans in the best mourning at my own cost […]
  6. A group where pickup artists meet to discuss and practise seduction techniques.

verb lairs · lairing · laired

  1. UK To rest; to dwell. The lee-light that December gies Was lairing in the wast, Whan Christy wi' her oa claes, Was boun' to dree the blast.
  2. UK To lay down.
  3. UK To bury.

lair²

  • /ˈlɛə̯/ UK
  • [ˈlɛə̯] ~ [ˈlɛː] UK
  • /ˈlɛː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [ˈlɛː] British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈleː/ Australia
  • [ˈleː] Australia
  • /ˈle̝ə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈle̝ə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈliə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈliə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈlɛː/ General South African
  • [ˈlɛː] General South African
  • /ˈlɜː(ɹ)/
  • [ˈlɜː(ɹ)]
  • /ˈlɛɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
  • [ˈlɛɚ] ~ [ˈlɛɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
  • /ˈleɾ/ Scotland
  • [ˈleːɾ] Scotland

Sounds like layer (some pronuciations), leer (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Old Norse leir (“clay, mud”). Compare Icelandic leir (“clay”).

noun lairs

  1. Scotland A bog; a mire.

verb lairs · lairing · laired

  1. Scotland, transitive To mire.
  2. Scotland, intransitive To become mired.

lair³

  • /ˈlɛə̯/ UK
  • [ˈlɛə̯] ~ [ˈlɛː] UK
  • /ˈlɛː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [ˈlɛː] British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈleː/ Australia
  • [ˈleː] Australia
  • /ˈle̝ə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈle̝ə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈliə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈliə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈlɛː/ General South African
  • [ˈlɛː] General South African
  • /ˈlɜː(ɹ)/
  • [ˈlɜː(ɹ)]
  • /ˈlɛɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
  • [ˈlɛɚ] ~ [ˈlɛɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
  • /ˈleɾ/ Scotland
  • [ˈleːɾ] Scotland

Sounds like layer (some pronuciations), leer (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Backformation from lairy.

noun lairs

  1. Australia, New Zealand, colloquial A person who dresses in a showy but tasteless manner and behaves in a vulgar and conceited way; a show-off.

lair⁴

  • /ˈlɛə̯/ UK
  • [ˈlɛə̯] ~ [ˈlɛː] UK
  • /ˈlɛː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [ˈlɛː] British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈleː/ Australia
  • [ˈleː] Australia
  • /ˈle̝ə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈle̝ə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈliə̯/ New Zealand
  • [ˈliə̯] New Zealand
  • /ˈlɛː/ General South African
  • [ˈlɛː] General South African
  • /ˈlɜː(ɹ)/
  • [ˈlɜː(ɹ)]
  • /ˈlɛɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
  • [ˈlɛɚ] ~ [ˈlɛɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
  • /ˈleɾ/ Scotland
  • [ˈleːɾ] Scotland

Sounds like layer (some pronuciations), leer (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)

noun lairs

  1. obsolete Obsolete form of layer The walls, which are fixed direct into the ground without a plinth, are made of wattle and plastered with a thin lair of mud or cowdung.

Lair⁵

proper noun Lairs

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: den, burrow, cave, loup, locker, landmark, stronghold, crib, spot, haven, refuge, air, hideout, place, hideaway, marker

Translations

Every language

noun of an animal

Españolguarida, madriguera
日本語巣窟 sōkutsu
中文巢穴 cháoxué, 獸穴 /兽穴 shòuxué, 獸窟 /兽窟 shòukū, 獸窩 /兽窝 shòuwō
हिन्दीमांद mānd
Portuguêstoca
Françaisantre, tanière, repaire
DeutschBau, Höhle
Italianotana
Românăvizuină
Русскийло́гово lógovo, берло́га berlóga, нора́ norá
עבריתמְאוּרָה meurá

noun of a criminal, hero/superhero etc.

Españolguarida, escondite
Portuguêsesconderijo, covil
Françaisantre
Italianocovo
Ελληνικάκρησφύγετο krisfýgeto, λημέρι liméri
Русскийло́гово lógovo, прито́н pritón

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Cite this
MLA

"lair." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lair. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lair. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lair

Chicago

"lair." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lair.

BibTeX
@misc{lair_2026,
  title = {lair},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lair},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}