lairs

Noun

lair (plural lairs)

1. A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
   • 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

   Synonyms:

   burrow, den, holt

2. A shed or shelter for domestic animals.
3. (figuratively) A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway.
   • ...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

   Synonyms:

   den, hide-out

4. (UK, dialectal) A bed or resting place.
   • 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
5. (Scotland) A grave; a cemetery plot.
   • […] but few knew the reason, and some thought it was because the deceased were strangers, and had no regular lair. I dressed the two bonny orphans in the best mourning at my own cost […]1821, John Galt, Annals of the parish, or, The chronicle of Dalmaling, xlix (page 205 in the 1908 edition)
6. A group where pickup artists meet to discuss and practise seduction techniques.

See all 14 meanings of lair