The difference between Lay and Place

When used as nouns, lay means arrangement or relationship, whereas place means an open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard.

When used as verbs, lay means to place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position, whereas place means to put (an object or person) in a specific location.

Lay is also adjective with the meaning: non-professional.

check bellow for the other definitions of Lay and Place

  1. Lay as a verb (transitive):

    To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.

    Examples:

    "to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave"

    "A shower of rain lays the dust."

    "A corresponding intransitive version of this word is [[lie#Etymology_1 lie]]."

  2. Lay as a verb (transitive, archaic):

    To cause to subside or abate.

  3. Lay as a verb (transitive):

    To prepare (a plan, project etc.); to set out, establish (a law, principle).

  4. Lay as a verb (transitive):

    To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.

    Examples:

    "lay brick; lay flooring"

  5. Lay as a verb (transitive):

    To produce and deposit an egg.

  6. Lay as a verb (transitive):

    To bet (that something is or is not the case).

    Examples:

    "I'll lay that he doesn't turn up on Monday."

  7. Lay as a verb (transitive):

    To deposit (a stake) as a wager; to stake; to risk.

  8. Lay as a verb (transitive, slang):

    To have sex with.

  9. Lay as a verb (nautical):

    To take a position; to come or go.

    Examples:

    "to lay forward; to lay aloft"

  10. Lay as a verb (legal):

    To state; to allege.

    Examples:

    "to lay the venue"

    "rfquotek Bouvier"

  11. Lay as a verb (military):

    To point; to aim.

    Examples:

    "to lay a gun"

  12. Lay as a verb (ropemaking):

    To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them.

    Examples:

    "to lay a cable or rope"

  13. Lay as a verb (printing):

    To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.

  14. Lay as a verb (printing):

    To place (new type) properly in the cases.

  15. Lay as a verb:

    To apply; to put.

  16. Lay as a verb:

    To impose (a burden, punishment, command, tax, etc.).

    Examples:

    "to lay a tax on land"

  17. Lay as a verb:

    To impute; to charge; to allege.

  18. Lay as a verb:

    To present or offer.

    Examples:

    "to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one"

  1. Lay as a noun:

    Arrangement or relationship; layout.

    Examples:

    "the lay of the land"

  2. Lay as a noun:

    A share of the profits in a business.

  3. Lay as a noun:

    A lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.

  4. Lay as a noun:

    The direction a rope is twisted.

    Examples:

    "Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way."

  5. Lay as a noun (colloquial):

    A casual sexual partner.

    Examples:

    "What was I, just another lay you can toss aside as you go on to your next conquest?"

  6. Lay as a noun (colloquial):

    An act of sexual intercourse.

  7. Lay as a noun (slang, archaic):

    A plan; a scheme.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Charles Dickens"

  8. Lay as a noun:

    the laying of eggs.

    Examples:

    "The hens are off the lay at present."

  9. Lay as a noun (obsolete):

    A layer.

  1. Lay as a noun:

    A lake.

  1. Lay as an adjective:

    Non-professional; not being a member of an organized institution.

  2. Lay as an adjective:

    Not belonging to the clergy, but associated with them.

    Examples:

    "They seemed more lay than clerical."

    "a lay preacher; a lay brother"

  3. Lay as an adjective (obsolete):

    Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.

  1. Lay as a verb:

    when pertaining to position.

    Examples:

    "The baby lay in its crib and slept silently."

  2. Lay as a verb (proscribed):

    To be in a horizontal position; to lie (from confusion with lie).

  1. Lay as a noun:

    A ballad or sung poem; a short poem or narrative, usually intended to be sung.

  1. Lay as a noun (obsolete):

    A meadow; a lea.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Dryden"

  1. Lay as a noun (obsolete):

    A law.

  2. Lay as a noun (obsolete):

    An obligation; a vow.

  1. Lay as a verb (Judaism, transitive):

    To don or put on (tefillin ).

  1. Place as a noun (physical):

    An area; somewhere within an area. An open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard. A group of houses. An inhabited area: a village, town, or city. Any area of the earth: a region. The area one occupies, particularly somewhere to sit. The area where one lives: one's home, formerly country estates and farms. An area of the skin. An area to urinate and defecate: an outhouse or lavatory. An area to fight: a battlefield or the contested ground in a battle.

    Examples:

    "They live at Westminster Place."

    "He is going back to his native place on vacation."

    "We asked the restaurant to give us a table with three places."

    "Do you want to come over to my place later?"

  2. Place as a noun:

    A location or position in space.

  3. Place as a noun:

    A particular location in a book or document, particularly the current location of a reader.

  4. Place as a noun:

    A passage or extract from a book or document.

  5. Place as a noun:

    A topic.

  6. Place as a noun:

    A frame of mind.

    Examples:

    "I'm in a strange place at the moment."

  7. Place as a noun:

    A chess position; a square of the chessboard.

  8. Place as a noun (social):

    A responsibility or position in an organization. A role or purpose; a station. The position of a contestant in a competition. The position of first, second, or third at the finish, especially the second position. The position as a member of a sports team.

    Examples:

    "It is really not my place to say what is right and wrong in this case."

    "We thought we would win but only ended up in fourth place."

    "to win a bet on a horse for place"

    "He lost his place in the national team."

  9. Place as a noun:

    A fortified position: a fortress, citadel, or walled town.

  10. Place as a noun:

    Numerically, the column counting a certain quantity.

    Examples:

    "three decimal places;  the hundreds place'"

  11. Place as a noun:

    Ordinal relation; position in the order of proceeding.

    Examples:

    "That's what I said in the first place!"

  12. Place as a noun:

    Reception; effect; implying the making room for.

  1. Place as a verb (transitive):

    To put (an object or person) in a specific location.

    Examples:

    "He placed the glass on the table."

  2. Place as a verb (intransitive):

    To earn a given spot in a competition. To finish second, especially of horses or dogs.

    Examples:

    "The Cowboys placed third in the league."

    "In the third race: Aces Up won, paying eight dollars; Blarney Stone placed, paying three dollars; and Cinnamon showed, paying five dollars."

  3. Place as a verb (transitive):

    To remember where and when (an object or person) has been previously encountered.

    Examples:

    "I've seen him before, but I can't quite place where."

  4. Place as a verb (transitive, in the passive):

    To achieve (a certain position, often followed by an ordinal) as in a horse race.

    Examples:

    "Run Ragged was placed fourth in the race."

  5. Place as a verb (transitive):

    To sing (a note) with the correct pitch.

  6. Place as a verb (transitive):

    To arrange for or to make (a bet).

    Examples:

    "I placed ten dollars on the Lakers beating the Bulls."

  7. Place as a verb (transitive):

    To recruit or match an appropriate person for a job.

    Examples:

    "They phoned hoping to place her in the management team."

  8. Place as a verb (sports, transitive):

    To place-kick (a goal).

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