Word.ws English Dictionary

laying a finger on

laying a finger on is the present participle and gerund of lay a finger on.

Meaning of lay a finger on

Verb

lay a finger on (third-person singular simple present lays a finger on, present participle laying a finger on, simple past and past participle laid a finger on)

  1. (colloquial, idiomatic) To merely touch.
    • If you lay a finger on my little brother, I'll have your guts for garters.
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lay, a, finger, on: to finger

Questions about laying a finger on

What is laying a finger on the present participle and gerund of?
Laying a finger on is the present participle and gerund of lay a finger on.

Words near laying a finger on in the dictionary

  1. layfolk
  2. layfolks
  3. layin
  4. layin'
  5. laying
  6. laying a finger on
  7. laying a glove on
  8. laying a hand on
  9. laying about
  10. laying an anchor to the windward
  11. laying an egg

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: laying a finger on (page history and authors); lay a finger on (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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