Definition

1. Verb:
   • To wait in hiding to attack or ambush someone: The primary meaning of "waylay" is to lie in wait for someone, typically with the intention of attacking, robbing, or confronting them unexpectedly.
   • To stop or accost someone unexpectedly: It can also mean to intercept or stop someone, often to talk to them, in an unexpected or inconvenient manner.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • The bandits planned to waylay the merchant's caravan on the mountain pass.
  • Reporters waylaid the politician as he left the building, asking for a comment on the scandal.
  • I was waylaid by an old friend on my way to the meeting, which made me late.

Advanced Usage

• "to be waylaid": to be stopped or ambushed.
  • Our progress was waylaid by a series of unexpected bureaucratic hurdles. (Used figuratively to mean "hindered" or "delayed.")

Variants and Related Words

• Waylayer (n): a person who waylays others.
  • The waylayers hid in the dense forest.

Synonyms

• Ambush: To attack from a concealed position.
• Lie in wait: To hide and wait for someone or something.
• Accost: To approach and address someone boldly or aggressively.
• Intercept: To stop or catch someone or something going from one place to another.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

(Note: "Waylay" itself is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meaning is contained within the single verb.)

Related Idioms

• To lay in wait for: This phrase is closely related in meaning to "waylay."
  • The hunters laid in wait for the deer near the watering hole.

Verb

1. wait in hiding to attack