- lay|er
- lay|er «LAY uhr», noun, adjective, verb.–n.1. a) one thickness or fold: »
the layer of clothing next to the skin, a layer of clay between two layers of sand. A cake is often made of two or more layers put together.
b) a particular level in an order or arrangement of elements: »Other “layers” of defense might engage the warhead later on (New York Times).
2. a person or thing that lays: »That hen is a champion layer.
3. Horticulture. a) a branch of a plant bent down and covered with earth so that it will take root and form a new plant while still attached to the parent stock. b) a plant propagated by layering.4. = minelayer: (Cf. ↑minelayer) »The mines in the Elbe represented the ultimate triumph of layers over sweepers (Manchester Guardian Weekly).
5. British Informal. a layabout.–adj.made or arranged in layers: »The types will range from the…two-layer, mainframe-centered configuration to the…minicomputer and PC arrangement. (Adlittle Forecast).
–v.i.to spread by layers.–v.t.1. to form (new plants) by layers: »to layer strawberry runners, to layer carnations.
2. to form in layers: »Anxiety was layered on anxiety, a child's tower of blocks mounting shakily (New Yorker).
3. to move along or through layers of an organization or a bureaucracy: »Inside the department our principal problem is layering (Time).
4. to remove or put (a person or employee) at a distance by advancement within a layer of a bureaucracy: »He feels he is being “layered” away from the Oval Office by having to report through someone else (Newsweek).
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
