lair

¹

[ lair ]

noun

1. a den or resting place of a wild animal:

   The cougar retired to its lair.

2. a secluded or hidden place, especially a secret retreat or base of operations; a hideout or hideaway:

   a pirate's lair.

3. British. a place in which to lie or rest; a bed.

verb (used with object)

1. to place in a lair.
2. to serve as a lair for.

verb (used without object)

1. to go to, lie in, or have a lair.

lair

²

[ lair ]

noun

1. British Dialect. mud; mire.

verb (used without object)

1. Scot. to sink or stick in mud or mire.

lair

³

[ lair ]

noun

, Chiefly Scot.

1. lore; learning.

lair

⁴

[ lair ]

noun

, Australian Informal.

1. a man who dresses garishly and is crude or vulgar; show-off.

lair

¹

/ lɛə /

noun

1. a flashy man who shows off

verb

1. intr; foll by up or around to behave or dress like a lair

lair

²

/ lɛə /

noun

1. the resting place of a wild animal
2. informal.
   a place of seclusion or hiding
3. an enclosure or shed for farm animals
4. the ground for a grave in a cemetery

verb

1. intr (esp of a wild animal) to retreat to or rest in a lair
2. tr to drive or place (an animal) in a lair

lair

³

/ ler /

noun

1. a Scot word for mire

Word History and Origins

Origin of lair¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English leir(e), lair, lare, Old English leger; cognate with Dutch, Old High German leger “bed, camp,” Afrkaans laager “defensive circle of wagons,” German Lager “storehouse”; akin to lie ²

Origin of lair²

First recorded in 1300–50; verb use of Middle English lair “clay, mire,” from Old Norse leir ”clay, mud”

Origin of lair³

Middle English lōre, laire (north and Scots lare, lere ), Old English lār “teaching, instruction”; lore ¹

Origin of lair⁴

First recorded in 1930–35; back formation from lairy

Word History and Origins

Origin of lair¹

perhaps from leer

Origin of lair²

Old English leger; related to lie ² and Old High German leger bed

Origin of lair³

from Old Norse leir mud

Example Sentences

Tom Francis plays Joe Gillis, the down-on-his-luck screenwriter, who gets caught in the web of Norma Desmond’s spider lair on Sunset Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times

Free - as his friends call him - says he can spend up to 16 hours a day in his lair posting on X, interacting with the network of dozens of content creators he’s a part of, and sharing AI-generated pictures.

From BBC

Speaking at the news conference, the former Harrods employee told how working for Fayed was like walking "into a lion's den - a lair of cover-ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation and gross sexual misconduct".

From BBC

Eric Olsen, the actor and founder of Cloud Nine, suggested that Matlock is “like Batman — she goes to her lair,” Urman said.

From Los Angeles Times

They literally accused her of staying artificially young by sacrificing children in a secret lair beneath a pizza parlor.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hideaway