lair

1 of 2

noun

ˈler 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• concealment
• covert
• den
• hermitage
• hideaway
• hideout
• hidey-hole
• hidy-hole
• nest

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

Noun

The mega-billionaire then turns Mt. Whitney into his lair, calling it Mt. Mar-a-Lago. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2024

The huge back room, however, looks like a mad scientist’s lair, with an 80-foot-long white tank, other tanks that look like giant washtubs, tons of glowing electronic equipment, and elaborate pipes and cabling. —Steven Levy, WIRED, 25 Oct. 2024

Elsewhere in the Keys, Caitlin descends into the dragon’s lair, ready to confront Eve about killing her father. —Erin Qualey, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2024

Last season, the room was designed to look like a cave, but it's been revamped to look like a C-list movie supervillain's lair. —Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 9 Oct. 2024

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

Kids Definition

lair

noun

ˈla(ə)r,

ˈle(ə)r

1

: the den or resting place of a wild animal

2

: refuge sense 1, hideaway