Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lay about

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.63 in modern English

Syllables: lay about
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To strike blows in all directions.

verb

To set about, with infinitive or gerund.

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lay, about.

Example Sentences

"[...] At beating quarters up, or forage, / Behaved herself with matchless courage; / And laid about in fight more busily / Than th' Amazonian Dame Penthesile."
"Alone he could have sprung into the midst of that close-packed mob, and, laying about him after the fashion of Numa, the lion, have struck the Arabs with such consternation that escape would have been easy."

Inflected Forms

lays about (present, singular) laying about (participle, present) laid about (participle, past) laid about (past)

Questions

What does lay about mean?: To strike blows in all directions.

How to pronounce lay about

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lay about”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “lay about”.
Repeat and practice — Say “lay about” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.