lay-up

or lay·up

[ ley-uhp ]

noun

1. Basketball. a shot with one hand from a point close to the basket, in which a player shoots the ball toward the basket, often off the backboard.
2. the operation of assembling veneers for pressing into plywood.
3. the operation of applying alternate layers of material and a binder to form a bonded material.
4. lay ¹( def 40 ).

lay up

verb

1. to store or reserve for future use
2. informal.
   usually passive to incapacitate or confine through illness

Word History and Origins

Origin of lay-up¹

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase lay up

Idioms and Phrases

see laid up ; lay in .

Example Sentences

The towel Murray threw landed at the heels of Davis on the baseline but the heat pack skidded across the floor just as Karl-Anthony Towns was going for a lay-up.

From Seattle Times

James scored the historic basket with 10 minutes and 39 seconds remaining in the second quarter with a driving lay-up from the left side of the basket to give the Lakers a 37-32 lead.

From BBC

The case presented to them is a lay-up.

From Salon

Edwards put Minnesota ahead with 2:22 left, but Sharpe converted a lay-up on the other end.

From Seattle Times

She’d also taught him to ride a bike and shoot a lay-up.

From Literature