lair

1 of 2

noun

1
dialectal British : a resting or sleeping place : bed
2
a
: the resting or living place of a wild animal : den
tracked the bear back to its lair
b
: a refuge or place for hiding
a villain's lair

lair

2 of 2

verb

laired; lairing; lairs

transitive verb

chiefly Scotland : to cause to sink in mire

intransitive verb

chiefly Scotland : wallow

Examples of lair in a Sentence

Noun tracking the bear back to its lair She runs the project from her private lair in the suburbs.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
But the team hypothesizes the fungus lures the spiders out of their lairs where they are exposed to circulating air currents, which helps spread its spores, said Araújo, who is also an honorary research associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom. Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 14 Feb. 2025 The story sounds like something right out of a horror movie: this fungus hacks the brain of its host, driving the normally shy spiders out of their lairs and webs to an exposed surface. Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Feb. 2025 What if the bar took the form of a gothic medieval lair meets rock-and-roll club? Elise Taylor, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2025 The supervillain is defeated by Superman and Batman in his lair. Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lair

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English leger; akin to Old High German legar bed, Old English licgan to lie — more at lie

Verb

Scots lair mire

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1560, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of lair was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lair. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

lair

noun
ˈla(ə)r,
ˈle(ə)r
1
: the den or resting place of a wild animal
2

More from Merriam-Webster on lair

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