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
Noun
Its lair, a form of Labyrinth, lay deep in the guts of America’s economy. Yanis Varoufakis, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2024 The story is rife with twists and turns and Austin Powers–like villains, including an eyepatch-wearing former Nazi who lives in a lair at the top of a mountain. Andrea Duncan-Mao, Vulture, 28 Jan. 2024 Meanwhile, his futuristic Left Bank lair on Quai Voltaire—which Vogue ran in its October 2008 issue—features chrome chairs by Marc Newsom and metal stools by Jasper Morrison. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2024 The steps to his lair are also the same as the Evil Queen’s. Katcy Stephan, Variety, 23 Nov. 2023 Another inconvenience: the daily routine of the Höss household is punctuated by yelps and cries, the chug of trains, the firing of weapons, and a low but discernible roar, as if some beast—a fire-breathing dragon—had its lair beyond the garden wall. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2023 Alex Edelman, a Jewish comic, walked into a lair of neo-Nazis and lived to tell his hilariously funny and politically disturbing tale about the festering swamp of hate in America. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2023 Once assembled, this lair is much bigger than expected, with three levels and a zipline, meaning there’s plenty of room for more than one kiddo to play at once. Maya Polton, Parents, 7 Nov. 2023 Past a white-walled and concrete-floored gallery space is the duo’s lair. Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 30 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near lair

Cite this Entry

“Lair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lair. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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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