Word.ws English Dictionary

lays by the heels

lays by the heels is the third-person singular simple present indicative of lay by the heels.

Meaning of lay by the heels

Verb

lay by the heels (third-person singular simple present lays by the heels, present participle laying by the heels, simple past and past participle laid by the heels)

  1. (dated, idiomatic) To fetter, to shackle; to imprison.
    • As I live,
      If the king blame me for 't, I'll lay ye all
      By the heels , and suddenly; and on your heads
      Clap round fines , for neglect1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio)...

Questions about lays by the heels

What is lays by the heels the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Lays by the heels is the third-person singular simple present indicative of lay by the heels.

Words near lays by the heels in the dictionary

  1. lays away
  2. lays back
  3. lays bare
  4. lays behind
  5. lays by
  6. lays by the heels
  7. lays chilly
  8. lays claim
  9. lays down
  10. lays down arms
  11. lays down on

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lays by the heels (page history and authors); lay by the heels (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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