Lair Meaning
/ˈlɛə̯/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
nounA shed or shelter for domestic animals.
Sentence Examples
A fox smells its own lair first.
The octopus only exits its lair to look for food or for reproductive purposes.
Beowulf decided to follow the dragon to its lair.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lion returned to its hidden ____ in the cave after hunting for food.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dragon lived in a deep dark ____ that was hidden high up in the rugged and rocky mountains nearby.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English leir, leire, lair, lare, from Old English leġer (“couch, bed”), from Proto-Germanic *legrą, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"O dainty dew, O morning dew / That gleamed in the world's first dawn, did you / And the sweet grass and manful oaks / Give lair and rest / To him who toadwise sits and croaks / His death-behest?"
— a. 1881, Sidney Lanier, Strange Jokes:
"“Would you go into the dragon's lair, my peerless Wiglaf?”"
— 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 47:
"...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?""
— 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
"[H]e did a little scout work, and discovered the lair of that old woman."
— 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 41:
"Then would I in Plenty's lap,
For the first time take a nap;
Falling back in easy lair,
Sweetly slumb'ring in my chair;"
— 1820, John Clare, “Address to Plenty in Winter”, in Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, page 50:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lion returned to its hidden ____ in the cave after hunting for food.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dragon lived in a deep dark ____ that was hidden high up in the rugged and rocky mountains nearby.