lie
verb uk/laɪ/ us/laɪ/
(POSITION)
A2 [ I + adv/prep, L ] present participle lying | past tense lay | past participle lain躺；平躺；平卧
to be in or move into a horizontal position on a surface
to lie in bed 躺在床上
to lie on a beach 躺在海滩上
to lie on your side 侧卧
A cat lay in front of the fire. 一只猫趴在炉火前。
He lies awake at night, worrying. 晚上他躺在床上焦虑不安，无法入睡。
A pen lay on the desk. 桌子上放着一支铅笔。
B1 [ I + adv/prep, L ] present participle lying | past tense lay | past participle lain位于，处在，坐落在
If something lies in a particular place, position, or direction, it is in that place, position, or direction.
There's an old pair of shoes of yours lying at/in the bottom of the wardrobe. 衣柜最下面放着一双你的旧鞋子。
The river lies 30 km to the south. 那条河在南面30公里处。
The team is lying third in the league. 该队在联赛中位居第三。
Here lies the body of Mary Taylor (= this is where Mary Taylor is buried). 玛丽‧泰勒葬于此处。
There are several houses lying empty in the town. 城里有几处空房子。
The town lay in ruins. 城镇已成为一片废墟。
The ship lies off (= is positioned near) the coast of Spain. 那艘船位于西班牙海岸附近。
[ I + adv/prep ] present participle lying | past tense lay | past participle lain存在，在
to exist
The hardest part of the competition still lies ahead of us. 比赛最艰难的阶段还在前面呢。
C2 [ I usually + adv/prep ] present participle lying | past tense lay | past participle lain（责任、罪责、决定、选择等）在于
If responsibility, blame, a decision, a choice, etc. lies with someone, they have responsibility, must make the decision, etc.
Responsibility for the disaster must ultimately lie with the government. 发生此次灾难的责任最终必须由政府来承担。
Where does the blame lie? 谁来承担罪责？
lie in statepresent participle lying | past tense lay | past participle lain （重要人物的遗体埋葬前经整容后）供公众瞻仰
When the dead body of an important person lies in state, it is arranged so that the public can see and honour it before it is buried.
- More examples
- It was very uncomfortable lying on the hospital bed with my legs suspended in the air.
- He was lying under the table in a drunken stupor.
- The ship has been lying on the seabed for more than 50 years.
- My dog loves lying on the rug in front of the fire.
- The town lies halfway between Rome and Florence.
(SPEAK FALSELY)
B1 [ I ] present participle lying | past tense lied | past participle lied说谎，撒谎
to say or write something that is not true in order to deceive someone
Are you lying to me? 你是不是在跟我撒谎？
Don't trust her - she's lying. 别信她的——她在说谎。
I suspect he lies about his age. 我怀疑他谎报了年龄。
See also: liar
- More examples
- If you're both going to lie, at least stick to the same story and don't contradict each other!
- He studied the men's faces carefully, trying to work out who was lying.
- Are you accusing me of lying?
- The prime minister reacted angrily to claims that he had lied to the House of Commons.
- He's never lied to me before, so I have no reason to doubt his word.
Idioms
lie doggoidiom UK old-fashioned informal 隐蔽地埋伏着
to keep still and hide so that you cannot be found
lie down on the jobidiom mainly US disapproving 偷懒，应付，凑合
to fail to work as hard or as well as you should
lie lowidiom informal 低调行事，不张扬
to try not to be noticed
I'd lie low if I were you till the trouble passes. 我要是你就别张扬，等麻烦过去后再说。
lie through your teethidiom informal 说谎话;睁眼说瞎话
to tell someone something that you know is completely false
He asked me how old I was and, lying through my teeth, I said "29". 他问我多大了，我骗他说是29岁。
not take something lying downidiom 不逆来顺受，不受气
to refuse to be treated badly by someone
He can't treat you like that! Surely you're not going to take that lying down! 他不能那样对待你！你当然不能受这个气！
Phrasal verbs
lie around 乱放，乱搁
If things are lying around, they are left in places where they should not be.
Has anyone seen my keys lying around? 有人看见我的钥匙落在什么地方了吗？
I wouldn't leave any money lying around the office if I were you. 我要是你就不会把钱在办公室里乱放。
无所事事，懒散度日
to spend time lying down and doing very little
I spent a week in Spain, lying around on the beach. 我在西班牙呆了一周，在海滩上享受清闲。
lie back 向后躺，向后仰
to move the top half of your body from a sitting to a lying position
She lay back in the dentist's chair and tried to relax. 她向后躺在牙医的椅子上，尽量让自己放松下来。
lie behind something 是隐藏在…背后的原因，是…的真实原因
If something lies behind something else, it is the hidden cause of it.
Do you know what lies behind their decision? 你知道他们的决定背后的真实原因吗？
lie downA2 躺下
to move into a position in which your body is flat, usually in order to sleep or rest
He lay down on the bed and tried to relax. 他躺在床上想休息一下。
lie in 睡懒觉
to stay in bed later than usual in the morning
It was a Sunday, so she could lie in till almost lunch time. 那是个星期天，所以她可以睡懒觉一直睡到快要吃午饭的时候。
lie in something 存在于；在于
to exist or be found in something
His skill lies in his ability to communicate quite complex ideas very simply. 他的能力体现在能将复杂的思想用非常简单的方式表达出来。
The play's interest lies in the questions it raises about sexuality. 这出戏有趣的地方在于它提出了性的问题。
lie up 躲避（警察或士兵的搜索）
to hide from police officers, soldiers, etc. who are looking for you
The escaped prisoners lay up in a barn for a few weeks, until the search had been called off. 越狱犯在一个谷仓里躲藏了数周，直到对他们的搜索取消為止。
lie
noun [ C ] uk/laɪ/ us/laɪ/
B1 谎话，瞎话
something you say that you know is not true
I told a lie when I said I liked her haircut. 我骗她说我喜欢她的发式。
- More examples
- It's embarrassing to be caught telling a lie.
- I wasn't entirely honest with him, I admit, but I didn't actually tell him any lies.
- The story was nothing but lies.
- Under cross-examination, the witness admitted her evidence had been mostly lies.
- It's difficult to disentangle hard fact from myth, or truth from lies.
Idioms
be a pack of liesidiom (formal be a tissue of lies) 谎话连篇，一派胡言
to be completely untrue
The whole report is a pack of lies. 整个报告谎话连篇。
give the lie to somethingidiom 证明…不实
to prove that something is not true
The fact that the number of deaths from cancer in the area has doubled surely gives the lie to official assurances of the safety of nuclear power. 该地区的癌症死亡人数已经翻了一番，这个事实说明官方对核电安全性所作的种种保证纯属一派胡言。
I tell a lieidiom mainly UK （用于纠正刚刚说过的话）我说错了
something you say when you have just said something wrong and want to correct it
Her name is Paula, no, I tell a lie (= I'm wrong) - it's Pauline. 她的名字叫葆拉，哦，不对——叫保利娜。
the lie of the landidiom UK (US the lay of the land) 地形；地势
the shape or height of the land