lie2

 
Pronunciation: /lʌɪ/

noun

  • an intentionally false statement: they hint rather than tell outright lies the whole thing is a pack of lies
  • used with reference to a situation involving deception or founded on a mistaken impression: all their married life she had been living a lie

verb (lies, lying, lied /ˈlʌɪɪŋ/)

[no object]
  • tell a lie or lies: why had Ashenden lied about his visit to London? [with direct speech]: ‘I am sixty-five,’ she lied
  • (of a thing) present a false impression: the camera cannot lie

Phrases

give the lie to

serve to show that (something previously assumed to be the case) is not true: these figures give the lie to the notion that Britain is excessively strike-ridden

I tell a lie (or that's a lie)

British informal used to correct oneself immediately when one realizes that one has made an incorrect remark: I never used to dream—I tell a lie, I did dream when I was little

lie through one's teeth

informal tell an outright lie without remorse: ‘Don’t worry, Lavender, you’ll soon catch up’, Miss Honey said, lying through her teeth

Origin:

Old English lyge (noun), lēogan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch liegen and German lügen