lay-by
1
5.9
- noun
- /ˈleɪ.baɪ/
- UK
:
área de descanso
- I pulled over to rest my eyes in a quiet lay-by along the highway.
So I come in behind them, I take them off the road, the geyser pulls up in the fucking lay by.
- So I come in behind them, I take them off the road, the geyser pulls up in the fucking lay by.
Examples
-
I've had my top off in this lay-by.
-
At the foot of the red rock ridge, decorated with faith, there was a lay-by.
Fiction book (1994) -
At the little lay-by area beyond the woods, take the steep narrow track through the shade of tree-heath.
Fiction book (2002) -
Then a little grey Citroën with a man in it pulled into the lay-by.
Fiction book (1994) -
Ken drove through dark gorges up into the mountains, and on the top of the highest mountain, called Eagle's Nest, he turned off the highway onto a sandy lay-by and stopped.
Fiction book (1990) -
They were across the Cromarty Firth causeway and on the Black Isle before Bill found a proper lay-by to stop in.
Fiction book (1998) -
As soon as I spotted a lay-by, I stopped to take a break from driving.
-
The truck driver parked his vehicle in a designated lay-by to take a quick nap.
Synonyms
67
1.0
The edge of a road where people stop and plants often grow
24
1.8
A place beside a road where people stop to rest, use toilets, or buy food
7
1.6
A place beside a highway where drivers stop to rest and use toilets
3
3.8
A paved area beside a main road where cars can stop briefly
A paved area beside a main road where vehicles stop briefly
Surface Forms
Morphology
lay-by = lay (semi-transparent) = by + lay
The components 'lay' and 'by' are common words ('put' + 'beside'), but 'lay-by' is a fixed British term for a roadside stopping place, so the compound meaning is partially idiomatic rather than fully compositional. [Postprocessing: moved 'by' from base_words to prefix]
Etymology
Lay-by comes from the simple words lay ('to place') and by ('beside'). So a lay-by is literally a place where you 'place' your car 'beside' the road for a short stop.