lay up

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lay up

verb lays up · laying up · laid up

transitive To store; to put by. We must lay up enough stores to get us through the winter.
transitive To disable or incapacitate; to confine to bed. He was laid up for six weeks with pneumonia.
intransitive To recuperate or rest; to remain in a place. He laid up until recovering from his illness.
transitive To take out of active service. The battleship is presently laid up in Portsmouth Harbour.
intransitive To go out of active service. The cruise ship lays up in November for the winter.
transitive To make a layup with (a basketball) He takes the pass, he drives, he lays it up and in.
intransitive To deliberately leave the ball further than necessary from the hole, so as to secure an easier succeeding shot. Rather than try to reach the green, he chose to lay up.
US, slang To have sex; to have a sexual relationship.

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MLA

"lay up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lay%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lay up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lay%20up

Chicago

"lay up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lay%20up.

BibTeX

@misc{lay_up_2026,
  title = {lay up},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lay%20up},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}