The difference between Lay and Rest

When used as nouns, lay means arrangement or relationship, whereas rest means relief from work or activity by sleeping.

When used as verbs, lay means to place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position, whereas rest means to cease from action, motion, work, or performance of any kind.


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

check bellow for the other definitions of Lay and Rest

  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. Rest as a noun (uncountable, of a [[person]] or [[animal]]):

    Relief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep.

    Examples:

    "I need to get a good rest tonight; I was up late last night."

    "The sun sets, and the workers go to their rest."

  2. Rest as a noun (countable):

    Any relief from exertion; a state of quiet and relaxation.

    Examples:

    "We took a rest at the top of the hill to get our breath back."

  3. Rest as a noun (uncountable):

    Peace; freedom from worry, anxiety, annoyances; tranquility.

    Examples:

    "It was nice to have a rest from the phone ringing when I unplugged it for a while."

  4. Rest as a noun (uncountable, of an [[object]] or [[concept]]):

    A state of inactivity; a state of little or no motion; a state of completion.

    Examples:

    "The boulder came to rest just behind the house after rolling down the mountain."

    "The ocean was finally at rest."

    "Now that we're all in agreement, we can put that issue to rest."

  5. Rest as a noun (euphemistic, uncountable):

    A final position after death.

    Examples:

    "She was laid to rest in the village cemetery."

  6. Rest as a noun (music, countable):

    A pause of a specified length in a piece of music.

    Examples:

    "Remember there's a rest at the end of the fourth bar."

  7. Rest as a noun (music, countable):

    A written symbol indicating such a pause in a musical score such as in sheet music.

  8. Rest as a noun (physics, uncountable):

    Absence of motion.

    Examples:

    "The body's centre of gravity may affect its state of rest."

  9. Rest as a noun (snooker, countable):

    A stick with a U-, V- or X-shaped head used to support the tip of a cue when the cue ball is otherwise out of reach.

    Examples:

    "Higgins can't quite reach the white with his cue, so he'll be using the rest."

  10. Rest as a noun (countable):

    Any object designed to be used to support something else.

    Examples:

    "She put the phone receiver back in its rest."

    "He placed his hands on the arm rests of the chair."

  11. Rest as a noun:

    A projection from the right side of the cuirass of armour, serving to support the lance.

  12. Rest as a noun:

    A place where one may rest, either temporarily, as in an inn, or permanently, as, in an abode.

  13. Rest as a noun (poetry):

    A short pause in reading poetry; a caesura.

  14. Rest as a noun:

    The striking of a balance at regular intervals in a running account. Often, specifically, the intervals after which compound interest is added to capital.

  15. Rest as a noun (dated):

    A set or game at tennis.

  1. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To cease from action, motion, work, or performance of any kind; stop; desist; be without motion.

  2. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To come to a pause or an end; end.

  3. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To be free from that which harasses or disturbs; be quiet or still; be undisturbed.

  4. Rest as a verb (intransitive, transitive, reflexive):

    To be or to put into a state of rest.

    Examples:

    "My day's work is over; now I will rest. We need to rest the horses before we ride any further. I shall not rest until I have uncovered the truth. Rest assured that I will do my best."

  5. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To stay, remain, be situated.

    Examples:

    "The blame seems to rest with your father."

  6. Rest as a verb (transitive, intransitive, reflexive):

    To lean, lie, or lay.

    Examples:

    "A column rests on its pedestal."

    "I rested my head in my hands. She rested against my shoulder. I rested against the wall for a minute."

  7. Rest as a verb (intransitive, transitive, legal, US):

    To complete one's active advocacy in a trial or other proceeding, and thus to wait for the outcome (however, one is still generally available to answer questions, etc.)

    Examples:

    "The defense rests, your Honor. I rest my case."

  8. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To sleep; slumber.

  9. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To lie dormant.

  10. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To sleep the final sleep; sleep in death; die; be dead.

  11. Rest as a verb (intransitive):

    To rely or depend on.

    Examples:

    "The decision rests on getting a bank loan."

  12. Rest as a verb:

    To be satisfied; to acquiesce.

  1. Rest as a noun (uncountable):

    That which remains.

    Examples:

    "She ate some of the food, but was not hungry enough to eat it all, so she put the rest in the refrigerator to finish later."

  2. Rest as a noun:

    Those not included in a proposition or description; the remainder; others.

  3. Rest as a noun (UK, finance):

    A surplus held as a reserved fund by a bank to equalize its dividends, etc.; in the , the balance of assets above liabilities.

  1. Rest as a verb (obsolete):

    To remain.

  1. Rest as a verb (obsolete):

    To arrest.