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Glite Dictionary
to lie low

to lie low

14 5.6
To stay out of sight to avoid trouble
  • phrasal verb
  • /laɪ loʊ/
  • Informal
translation icon : mantener un perfil bajo
  • After the incident, it was best for him to lie low until things settled.
  • just lie low
  • lie low and wait
  • lie low to avoid

I was, I, I did try and like lay low and go and kind of lay low.

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Examples

Synonyms

to hide
vsto lie low
∞ 1.0

To keep something so others cannot see or understand it

is more about staying away from attention or detection for safety
to hide out
vsto lie low
  • Informal
76 5.6

To stay in a secret place to avoid danger or trouble

focuses on avoiding attention in general rather than staying in one secret spot
to keep one's head down
vsto lie low
41 6.3

Avoid getting noticed to stay out of trouble

often implies going out of sight or staying away to prevent being found
to keep a low profile
vsto lie low
36 3.9

Act quietly so people do not notice you

leans more toward hiding or keeping out of sight to avoid detection
to fly under the radar
vsto lie low
  • Informal
9 5.9

To avoid being noticed by other people

tends to involve deliberate withdrawal from view to avoid trouble or detection
to slip under the radar
vsto lie low
  • Informal
1 6.3

To go unnoticed by people or officials

normally means actively staying out of sight or avoiding detection for safety
to skulk in the shadows
vsto lie low
1 8.6

To hide and move quietly in dark places to avoid being seen

is broader and can mean simply avoiding notice, not always furtive movement

Antonyms

to draw attention
71 2.5

To make people notice something or someone

How Hidden

to hide
∞ 1.0
to lie low
  • Informal
14 5.6
to sneak away
  • Informal
17 3.6

Surface Forms

lie low infinitive
lying low present participle
lies low third person singular
lay low past
lain low past participle

Morphology

lie + low

The meaning 'to avoid attracting attention' is a metaphorical extension of 'lie' (be horizontal) + 'low' (close to the ground): the spatial image of staying low suggests concealment, but the specific pragmatic sense of hiding or keeping out of sight is not fully predictable from the parts for a B1 learner without exposure. Similar 'keep low' metaphors occur in other languages but with variation, so the relation is partially clear but not fully transparent.

Etymology

The verb lie low comes from the image of someone who would lie down low behind a bush or in a ditch to stay hidden from danger. So it now means 'to avoid attracting attention' or 'to keep out of sight'.