1
: the action of laying up or the condition of being laid up
2
: a shot in basketball made from near the basket usually by playing the ball off the backboard
laid up; laying up; lays up
1
: to store up : lay by
2
: to disable or confine with illness or injury
a knee injury laid him up for a week
3
: to take out of active service
Synonyms
Examples of layup in a Sentence
Verb
an eating disorder that would impel her to lay up candy bars in her closet for all-night food binges
Recent Examples on the Web
Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2024
Joel Embiid knocked down two early triples and Curry converted a pair of layups assisted by LeBron James.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 July 2024
Hot off her third, and ultimate, overdose, she was laid up in a nursing home in theoretical recovery with her brand new ostomy bag.
—Brie Schwartz, Glamour, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for layup 
Noun
When Plum completed another highlight reel play by wrapping a pass around a defender in the lane to find a wide-open Wilson for a layup, Taurasi was the first one off the bench to wrap Plum in a hug.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2024
Joel Embiid knocked down two early triples and Curry converted a pair of layups assisted by LeBron James.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
Verb
Females can lay up to 100 eggs during a lifetime, which hatch in three to six weeks.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 July 2024
Hot off her third, and ultimate, overdose, she was laid up in a nursing home in theoretical recovery with her brand new ostomy bag.
—Brie Schwartz, Glamour, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for layup
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'layup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Layup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layup. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
layup
1 of 2 noun
lay·up
ˈlā-ˌəp 
: a basketball shot made from near the basket usually by bouncing the ball off the backboard
lay up
2 of 2 verb1
: to store up
2
: to disable or confine with illness or injury
a knee injury laid her up for a week
3
: to take out of active service
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