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“Lay” or “Lei” or “Ley”

lay / lei / ley are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

lay l·EY

  • verbput in a horizontal position.
  • verbprepare or position for action or operation.
  • verblay eggs.
  • verbimpose as a duty, burden, or punishment.
  • adjectivenot of or from a profession.

lei l·EY

No dictionary entry for this spelling — see the usage examples below for how it shows up in writing.

ley l·EY

No dictionary entry for this spelling — see the usage examples below for how it shows up in writing.

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“lay”

  • We categorically lay aside any rights we may…
  • …before studying theology as a lay student at St. Patrick's College,
  • Le lay de plaisance (approximately 1412/1414)
  • Lay preacher
  • …in his The Question of Lay Analysis.
  • …the only line of withdrawal lay through a deep stream lined…
  • The chief difficulty lay in finding an experiment where…
  • …were in fact replaced by lay judges.
  • …into the scale of Austria lay in settling the Schleswig-Holstein question…
  • …his feet and begins to lay into the Admiral.

“lei”

  • Che Lei Pai () is an islet…
  • 31M- Shek Lei (Lei Pui Street) ↔ Kwai…
  • Li Lei (footballer, born 1992)
  • …defeating Ma Wenge and Zhang Lei in the final by three…
  • …bags of gold (4 million lei).
  • Li Lei (; ; born May 30,…
  • Lei Kit Meng made his debut…
  • 36M- Lei Muk Shue ↔ Kwai Fong
  • Eddie Kwan as Lei Cham-fan
  • …"Final Gala" are among 100,000 lei (equivalent of €22,000) and an…

“ley”

  • …need was reflected in the Ley General de Instituciones de Crédito,…
  • The Iglesias law or Ley Iglesias issued on 11 April…
  • …(town) by the Act of Ley Nº 14.326.
  • …and Finance) (Reforma a la Ley Reglamentaria del Servicio Público de…
  • …Protection Measures against Gender Violence (Ley Orgánica 1/2004, de 28 de…
  • Feldhaus told Willy Ley that he began writing books…
  • …a mark point on several ley alignments including Alfred Watkins' "Strand…
  • Madeleine Ley (1901–1981), his great grand daughter…
  • …(village) by the Act of Ley N° 8.907.
  • Thanks to the Ley de Mercado de Valores (Law…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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