waylay

verb

way·​lay ˈwā-ˌlā 

waylaid ˈwā-ˌlād  ; waylaying; waylays

transitive verb

1

: to lie in wait for or attack (someone) from ambush

… he had been waylaid, bound hand and foot, and thrown into a marsh. But he got out again, somehow, to cause a great deal of trouble yet.

—Charles Dickens

2

: to temporarily stop the movement or progress of (someone or something)

The barkeeper, Tony, would come out of his saloon and wait to waylay the men going home. He could always entice a man with a full pocket into his saloon.

—Meridel Le Sueur

I can get waylaid by tangential thoughts and associations in mid-sentence, and this leads to parentheses, subordinate clauses, sentences of paragraphic length. I never use one adjective if six seem to me better and, in their cumulative effect, more incisive.

—Oliver Sacks

Synonyms

• ambuscade
• ambush
• surprise
• surprize

Examples of waylay in a Sentence

Gangs sometimes waylay travelers on that road.

We were waylaid by a group of kids with water balloons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Linebacker Matt Milano delivered three quarterback hits, waylaid receiver Rashod Bateman on a third-down play to force a field goal and deflected Jackson’s pass on a two-point conversion attempt to tight end Isaiah Likely late in the third quarter. —Tim Graham, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025

As his teammates thrived, Mitchell was waylaid by illness against the Thunder, shooting only 3-16. —Sam Allard, Axios, 15 Jan. 2025

But on his way to his second career, he was waylaid by an unexpected illness. —Susan Young, People.com, 27 Dec. 2024

Chicago City Council approved the mega development featuring new housing, retail and park space back in 2019, but it was waylaid by the pandemic-era economy that saw costs jump. —Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

waylay

verb

way·​lay ˈwā-ˌlā 

waylaid -ˌlād  ; waylaying

: to attack from a hiding place