Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
laying

laying

16 1.3
The act of birds, like chickens, producing eggs
  • noun
  • /ˈleɪɪŋ/
translation icon : puesta
  • During the spring, many birds begin their laying season, filling the nests with eggs.
  • egg laying
  • laying hens

Examples

  • We used a 35-day exposure period to incorporate a mean incubation and laying period for lesser prairie chickens.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Farmers who take care of the laying hens for corporations generally receive depression-type wages for their work.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Like each chicken is laying one or two eggs a day.

  • What does the owner do on the farm where the laying hens are located?

    Academic text (1997)

  • Female sanderlings that still have sufficient fat reserves will get a head start in egg laying and incubation.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Karr grew up on a chicken farm with 5,000 laying hens.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The farmer was pleased with the chicken's daily laying of fresh eggs.

  • Proper nutrition is essential for hens to optimize their laying of eggs.

Synonyms

egg laying
vslaying
3 1.5

Animals, especially birds, make eggs and put them in a nest

is the common term focused on birds and domestic poultry
oviposition
vslaying
  • Specialized
1 8.5

To lay eggs, especially by insects or fish

is the everyday bird-focused word rather than technical biological term

Antonyms

infertility
  • Specialized
55 5.7

Not being able to have a baby

sterility
3 7.0

Not able to have children

Idioms

laying waste
14 8.8

An action that causes great damage to places and people

Compounds

egg laying
3 1.5

Animals, especially birds, make eggs and put them in a nest

egg-laying mammal
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A mammal that lays eggs, like the platypus or echidna

laying on of hands
  • Formal
1 8.3

An act of placing hands on a person to bless, give authority, or heal them

Surface Forms

laying singular
layings plural

Morphology

laying = lay (transparent) = lay + ing

Formed by adding the gerundive/noun-forming suffix '-ing' to the verb 'lay'; the noun denotes the action of producing eggs and is directly derived from the verb.

Etymology

Laying comes from the simple verb lay, which means 'to put down' or 'to place'. So when birds are laying eggs, they are 'putting down' eggs, and laying means the act of producing eggs.