Lair

English

Noun

Lair (plural Lairs)

1. A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
2. (figuratively) A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain.
   • 1897, Bram Stoker , Dracula Chapter 21

     ...Van Helsing stood up and said, "Now, my dear friends, we go forth to our terrible enterprise. Are we all armed, as we were on that night when first we visited our enemy's lair. Armed against ghostly as well as carnal attack?"

Synonyms

• (of an animal): burrow (of some smaller mammals), den (of a lion or tiger)
• (of a criminal): den, hide-out

Verb

Lair (third-person singular simple present Lairs, present participle Lairing, simple past and past participle Laired)

1. (transitive, Scotland) To mire.
2. (intransitive, Scotland) To become mired.

Adjectives for Lair

frigid; equatorial; shaggy; rosy; dreadful; jungle; deathless.

Verbs for Lair

conceal in—; corner in—; discover—; dwell in—; ensconce in—; enter—; expose—; har¬bor in—; lodge in—; nestle in—; recline in—; repose in—; retreat to—; reveal—; track to—; uncover—; venture upon—; — comforts; —reeks; —shelters.

Thesaurus

abri, adytum, antre, ashram, asylum, bolt-hole, bordello, brothel, bunker, burrow, cache, cathouse, cave, cavern, cell, clip joint, cloister, concealment, corner, couch, cove, cover, covert, coverture, cranny, cubby, cubbyhole, dark corner, den, den of thieves, dive, dugout, dump, earth, fleshpots, form, foxhole, funk hole, grot, grotto, gyp joint, hermitage, hideaway, hideout, hidey hole, hiding, hiding place, hole, hollow, holy of holies, ivory tower, joint, lodge, mew, nest, niche, nook, privacy, recess, refuge, retreat, run, sanctuary, sanctum, sanctum sanctorum, secret place, sewer, sporting house, stash, stews, subterrane, subway, tunnel, undercovert, warren, whorehouse

Etymology

From Old English leġer (“couch, bed”), from Proto-Germanic *legran, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵh-.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /lɛə/, SAMPA: /lE@/
• (US) IPA: /lɛɹ/, SAMPA: /lEr\/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(r)

Translations

Noun

of an animal

Czech: doupě (cs) n. Finnish: pesä (fi) French: tanière (fr) f., antre (fr) m. Georgian: ბუნაგი (ka) (bunagi) German: Bau (de) m. Hungarian: odú (hu) Italian: tana (it) f. Latvian: miga (lv) f.

Russian: логово (ru) (lógovo) n., берлога (ru) (b'erlóga) f. Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ја̏збина (sh) f. Roman: jȁzbina (sh) f. Slovene: brlog (sl) m. Spanish: guarida (es) f. Swedish: bohåla (sv) c., håla (sv) c., gryt (sv) n.

of a criminal

Finnish: piilo (fi), piilopaikka (fi) French: antre (fr) m. Hungarian: búvóhely (hu) Italian: covo (it) m. Russian: логово (ru) (lógovo) n. Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ја̏збина (sh) f., бр́лог (sh) m., ја̏ма (sh) f. Roman: jȁzbina (sh) f., bŕlog (sh) m., jȁma (sh) f.

Slovene: brlog (sl) m. Spanish: guarida (es) f.

Anagrams

• aril
• lari
• liar
• lira
• rail
• rial

---

Manx

Noun

Lair f.

1. Alternative form of laair.

---

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlair/
• Rhymes: -er

Noun

Lair (plural Lairs)

1. lore

"Ower mony a fair-farrant an rare beuk o precious lair" (second verse of "The Raven" translated into Scots).