lie behind
phrasal verb
lay behind; lain behind; lying behind; lies behind
: to be the cause of (something)
Greed lies behind the higher prices.
Examples of lie behind in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Much of the intensity and coldness that sometimes lay behind Carter’s smile came from Rickover.
—
Jonathan Alter, TIME, 29 Dec. 2024
Our Big 2024 Vacation Adventure now lies behind us.
—Helaine Williams, arkansasonline.com, 28 Dec. 2024
The wordsmithing and the ideas that lay behind a joke have always interested me.
—Stephanie Wenger, People.com, 25 Dec. 2024
Speakers of Lisu, a Tibeto-Burman language, also talk about the future as lying behind them and the past as in front of them.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
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Jonathan Alter, TIME, 29 Dec. 2024
Our Big 2024 Vacation Adventure now lies behind us.
—Helaine Williams, arkansasonline.com, 28 Dec. 2024
The wordsmithing and the ideas that lay behind a joke have always interested me.
—Stephanie Wenger, People.com, 25 Dec. 2024
Speakers of Lisu, a Tibeto-Burman language, also talk about the future as lying behind them and the past as in front of them.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lie behind
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Cite this Entry
“Lie behind.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lie%20behind. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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