| Principal Translations |
| lie n | ([sth] not true) | mentira nf |
| | | embuste nm |
| | The lie got him in trouble when his boss found out the truth. |
| | La mentira le metió en problemas cuando su jefe descubrió la verdad. |
| | El embuste le metió en problemas cuando su jefe descubrió la verdad. |
| lie⇒ vi | (not tell the truth) | mentir⇒ vi |
| Note: conjugation: lie - lied - lied |
| | She lied to her parents about where she was on Friday night. |
| | Mintió a sus padres sobre dónde estaba el viernes por la noche. |
| lie vi | (recline) | tumbarse⇒, echarse⇒ v prnl |
| Note: conjugation: lie - lay - lain |
| | If I lie on the sofa, I'll fall asleep. |
| | Si me echo en el sofá, me quedaré dormido. |
| lie vi | ([sth]: be spread out) | extenderse⇒ v prnl |
| Note: conjugation: lie - lay - lain |
| | Toys were lying all over the bedroom floor. |
| | Los juguetes se extendían por todo el piso. |
| lie vi | (item: be, stay) | estar⇒ vi |
| Note: conjugation: lie - lay - lain |
| | His book lay on the table unread. |
| | Su libro estaba en la mesa sin leer. |
| lie vi | (be buried) (cadáver) | yacer⇒ vi |
| | (figurado) | descansar⇒ vi |
| Note: conjugation: lie - lay - lain |
| | Her body lies in that cemetery. |
| | Su cuerpo yace en el cementerio. |
| lie vi | (be situated) | situarse⇒ v prnl |
| | | estar situado loc verb |
| Note: conjugation: lie - lay - lain |
| | The house lies in the valley. |
| | La casa se sitúa en el valle. |
| lie vi | (be found) | radicar⇒, consistir⇒ vi |
| Note: conjugation: lie - lay - lain |
| | The student's lack of focus is where the problem lies. |
| | El problema radica en la falta de atención del estudiante. |
| lie in [sth] vi + prep | (be due to) | radicar en vi + prep |
| | | consistir en vi + prep |
| | | basarse en v prnl + prep |
| | The problem lies in the fact that he doesn't know how to work with people. |
| | El problema radica en el hecho de que él no sabe trabajar con otras personas. |
| lie with [sb/sth] vi + prep | (be attributable to) | recaer en vi + prep |
| | | caer en vi + prep |
| | The responsibility for the decision lies with the manager. |
| | La responsabilidad de la decisión recae en el gerente. |
Locuciones verbales
lie | lied |
| lie about vi phrasal | UK, informal ([sth]: remain unused) (cosas) | estar tirado, estar sin usar, estar sin funcionar loc verb |
| lie about vi phrasal | UK ([sb]: lounge idly) (persona) | estar sin hacer nada, estar tirado loc verb |
| lie ahead vi phrasal | figurative ([sth]: be going to happen) | esperar⇒ vi |
| | | estar por venir loc verb |
| | No matter our plans, we never really know what lies ahead. |
| | No importa cuáles sean nuestros planes, nunca sabemos a ciencia cierta lo que nos espera. |
| lie around vi phrasal | ([sb]: lounge idly) | dar vueltas sin hacer nada loc verb |
| | You said you would mow the lawn, but all you've done today is lie around the house. |
| | The teenager chose to lie around for most of the day. |
| | Dijiste que ibas a cortar el pasto, pero lo único que has hecho hoy ha sido dar vueltas por la casa sin hacer nada. |
| lie around vi phrasal | informal ([sth]: remain unused) | estar tirado v cop + adj |
| | | ocupar lugar loc verb |
| | We have many old books that just lie around the attic waiting to be read. |
| | Tenemos muchos libros viejos que están tirados por el ático esperando a que alguien los lea. |
| lie back vi phrasal | ([sb]: recline) | recostarse⇒ v prnl |
| | At the end of a hard day, I like to lie back in my favorite recliner and read a good book. |
| | Al final de un día difícil, me gusta recostarme en mi sillón favorito y leer un buen libro. |
| lie behind vi phrasal | ([sth]: be real reason) | subyacer⇒ vi |
| | Bajo esas mirada aparentemente inocente subyacen malas intenciones. |
lie in,
sleep in vi phrasal | UK, informal (stay in bed late) | levantarse tarde v prnl + adv |
| | | dormir hasta tarde vi + loc adv |
| | I will lie in this morning because I was out celebrating my birthday yesterday evening. |
| | The newlyweds loved to lie in on Sunday mornings. |
| | Hoy me voy a levantar tarde porque anoche salí a celebrar mi cumpleaños. |
| | A los recién casados les encantaba dormir hasta tarde los domingos. |
| lie over vi phrasal | US (break a journey) | hacer una parada loc verb |
| | | parar⇒ vi |
| lie over vi phrasal | US (be postponed) | posponerse⇒ v prnl |
| | | esperar⇒ vi |
| | The other business on the agenda will have to lie over until the next meeting. |
| | El otro tema en la agenda deberá posponerse hasta la próxima reunión. |
| lie with [sb/sth] vi phrasal | archaic (have sex with) | tener relaciones sexuales con loc verb |
| | The man was discovered lying with a woman who was married to another. |
| | Encontraron al hombre teniendo relaciones sexuales con una mujer casada. |
| sleep in vi phrasal | (get up late) | levantarse tarde v prnl + adv |
| | | dormir hasta tarde vi + loc adv |
| | It's Saturday, so I don't have to get up for work. I can sleep in. |
| | Es sábado y no tengo que ir a trabajar. Puedo levantarme tarde. |
Compound Forms:
lie | lied |
| a big lie n | (fraud) | gran mentira adj + nf |
| | Con un gran engaño, lograron que comprara el carro. |
| the big lie n | (propaganda) (ES) | fraude nm |
| | | publicidad engañosa nf |
| give the lie to [sth] v expr | (prove untrue) | desmentir⇒ vtr |
| have a lie-in v expr | UK (sleep late) | dormir hasta tarde vi + loc adv |
| | Tony starts works at 7am six days a week, so on Sundays he has a lie-in. |
lay of the land,
lie of the land n | (geographical features) | configuración del terreno nf + loc adj |
| | When hillwalking, be guided by the lay of the land. |
| | Cuando haces senderismo te tienes que guiar por la configuración del terreno. |
| let sleeping dogs lie v expr | figurative (don't provoke an argument) | dejarlo estar loc verb |
| | John hasn't mentioned last night's argument, so I'd let sleeping dogs lie if I were you. |
| lie at [sb]'s door v expr | figurative (be [sb]'s fault, responsibility) | ser culpa de loc verb + prep |
| | | ser responsabilidad de loc verb + prep |
| lie awake v expr | ([sb]: not sleep) | no poder dormir loc verb |
| | | mantenerse despierto, permanecer despierto loc verb |
| | I lay awake most of the night worrying. |
| | I miss you and sometimes lie awake at night thinking of you. |
| | No puedo dormir y me paso la noche preocupándome. // Te extraño y veces no puedo dormir pensando en ti. |
| lie beneath v expr | (be under [sth]) (formal) | yacer bajo vi + prep |
| | | estar bajo v cop + prep |
| lie detector n | (device: police interrogation) | detector de mentiras nm + loc adj |
| lie down vi + adv | ([sb]: recline, prostrate self) | acostarse⇒ v prnl |
| | | tumbarse⇒, echarse⇒ v prnl |
| | | tenderse⇒ v prnl |
| | I'm very tired so I'm going to lie down. |
| | The man had to lie down on the table for the doctor to inspect his abdomen. |
| | Estoy muy cansado, así que me voy a acostar. |
| | El hombre tuvo que tenderse en la mesa para que el médico le examinase el abdomen. |
| lie fallow vi + adj | (farmland: not be cultivated) | estar en barbecho vi + loc adv |
| | The farmer is letting this field lie fallow this year. |
| lie fallow vi + adj | figurative (be unused) (figurado) | estar en barbecho loc verb |
| | | estar sin explotar vi + loc adv |
| | His artistic talents have lain fallow for too long. |
| | Sus talentos artísticos han estado en barbecho por demasiado tiempo. |
| lie flat vi + adv | (person: lie stretched out) | acostarse⇒ v prnl |
| | | estirarse boca arriba loc verb |
| | | estirarse boca abajo loc verb |
| lie flat vi + adv | (object: resting low horizontally) | dejar estirado loc verb |
lie-in,
sleep-in n | UK, informal (sleeping late) | levantarse tarde v prnl + adv |
| | | dormir hasta tarde vi + loc adv |
| | Lie-ins are one of the best things about weekends. |
| | Levantarse tarde es una de las mejores cosas de los fines de semana. |
lie in ambush,
wait in ambush v expr | (be hidden, wait to attack) | emboscarse⇒ v prnl |
| | | esconderse y esperar para atacar loc verb |
| | The outlaws lay in ambush, waiting for the stagecoach to pass. |
| | Los forajidos se emboscaron para esperar el paso de la diligencia. |
| lie in state v expr | (corpse: displayed) | yacer en capilla ardiente loc verb |
| lie in wait v expr | (hide, await [sb]) | estar al acecho loc verb |
| Note: Usually used in continuous tenses. |
| | When the victim arrived home, his attacker was already lying in wait. |
| | Cuando la víctima llegó a su casa, el atacante ya estaba al acecho. |
| lie in wait for [sb] v expr | (hide, await [sb]) | estar al acecho de loc verb |
| | | esperar escondido a loc verb |
| | The man was convicted of first degree murder because he had been lying in wait for the victim. |
| lie low v expr | figurative (not draw attention to yourself) | mantener un perfil bajo loc verb |
| | | pasar desapercibido loc verb |
| | | evitar ser visto loc verb |
| | In the week following the bank heist, the robbers lay low at a house in the country. |
| lie still vi + adv | (lie down motionless) | quedarse quieto loc verb |
| lie through your teeth v expr | (tell a malicious lie) | mentir con malicia vi + loc adv |
| lie to vi + adv | (nautical: come to a stop) (Náutica) | ponerse al pairo v prnl + loc adv |
| | The vessel lay to so that emergency repairs could be made to the rigging. |
| lie-down n | informal (rest, nap) | siesta nf |
| | (MX) | pisto nm |
| | Dad decided to have a lie-down after lunch. |
| tell a lie v expr | (not tell the truth) | decir mentiras loc verb |
| | I used to tell a lot of lies when I was a little kid. |
| | Cuando pequeña, decía mentiras a cada rato. |
white lie,
little white lie n | (fib) | mentira piadosa nf + adj |
| | (informal) | mentirita, mentirijilla nf |
| | His baby was ugly, but I told a little white lie and said it was cute. |
| | Su bebé era feo, pero, con una mentira piadosa, le dije que era lindo. |
You've made your bed,
You've made your bed - now lie in it interj | figurative, informal (face the consequences of your actions) | te lo buscaste expr |