To lie means to say something you know isn't true, usually to avoid trouble or make yourself look better. When you break a vase and tell your parents the cat did it, even though you knocked it over yourself, you're lying. When a student claims they finished their homework but actually didn't even start it, that's a lie.

Lies can be small, like fibbing about brushing your teeth, or serious, like blaming someone else for something you did. Some people distinguish between lying and telling white lies, which are small untruths meant to avoid hurting someone's feelings, like saying you enjoyed a gift you didn't really like. But most lies are attempts to escape consequences or create a false impression.

The word can also mean to rest in a horizontal position. You might lie down on your bed to read, or lie on the grass watching clouds. A book lies open on the table. Don't confuse lie with lay, which means to put or place something down: you lie down yourself, but you lay a book on the table.