waylays

Verb

waylay (third-person singular simple present waylays, present participle waylaying, simple past and past participle waylaid or (nonstandard) waylayed)

1. (transitive) To lie in wait for and attack from ambush.
   • Oh! youthful benefactress! how often in succeeding years, standing in solitary places, and thinking of thee with grief of heart and perfect love, how often have I wished that, as in ancient times the curse of a father was believed to have a supernatural power, and to pursue its object with a fatal...1821 September–October, [Thomas De Quincey], “[Part I.] Preliminary Confessions.”, in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, 2nd edition, London: […] [J. Moyes] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published...

   Synonyms:

   ambush, lurk

2. (transitive) To accost or intercept unexpectedly.
   • And thereafter the name and fame of the man with the thousand dozen eggs began to spread through the land. […] Dyea and Skaguay took an interest in his being, and questioned his progress from every man who came over the passes. While Dawson—golden, omeletless Dawson—fretted and worried, and waylaid...1903 March, Jack London, “The One Thousand Dozen”, in The National Magazine […], volume XVII, number 6, Boston, Mass.: W. W. Potter Co., →OCLC, page 708, column 1

   Synonyms:

   buttonhole