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
Joseph Person, The Athletic, 12 Aug. 2024
Johnson added 12 points after repeatedly driving for layups, Dylan Andrews made two three-pointers on the way to 14 points and Sebastian Mack added 12 points to go with his trademark grit off the bench.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Brody Miller, The Athletic, 10 Apr. 2024
And with female cane toads capable of laying up to 30,000 eggs at a time, their numbers multiplied at an almost unstoppable pace.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for layup 
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Noun
On: Bryce Young, Andy Dalton Notable cuts: Jack Plummer, Jake Luton
Toughest call: N/A
This one’s a layup.
—Joseph Person, The Athletic, 12 Aug. 2024
Johnson added 12 points after repeatedly driving for layups, Dylan Andrews made two three-pointers on the way to 14 points and Sebastian Mack added 12 points to go with his trademark grit off the bench.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
Some players will lay up short of the fairway bunkers to leave themselves a comfortable full club into the green.
—Brody Miller, The Athletic, 10 Apr. 2024
And with female cane toads capable of laying up to 30,000 eggs at a time, their numbers multiplied at an almost unstoppable pace.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for layup
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Cite this Entry
“Layup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layup. Accessed 28 Nov. 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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