What does "layer" mean?
A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
Layer
/lɛə/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
- Grammar: layer is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: level, stratum, appleton layer, applied.
- Useful contrasts: broiler, expose, uncoated.
- Usage evidence: Without the ozone layer, we would be in danger.
How to use "layer"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "layer" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "layer" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "layer" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "layer" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "layer" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "level" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "layer", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
"Wrap the loaf in two layers of aluminum foil before putting it in the oven."
- 2 A person who lays anything, such as tiles or a wager.
"If fortune ever favoured any venturesome layer of bets, Tom Elliot was certainly the one that day."
- 3 thin structure composed of a single thickness of cells wordnet
- 4 A single thickness of some material covering a surface.; An item of clothing worn under or over another.
"It's cold now but it will warm up this afternoon. Make sure you wear layers."
- 5 A mature female bird, insect, etc. that is able to lay eggs.
"As for which hen we'll cull for next Sunday's dinner, we certainly won't eat Henrietta yet — she's still a prime layer."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 a hen that lays eggs wordnet
- 7 A (usually) horizontal deposit; a stratum.
"I find seven-layer cake a bit too rich."
- 8 A mature female bird, insect, etc. that is able to lay eggs.; A hen kept to lay eggs; a breed of chicken bred to maximize laying output.
"“Mrs. Boast can’t have got all these from one hatching,” [Ma] said. “I do believe there’s not more than two cockerels among them.” “The Boasts have got such a head-start with chickens, likely they’re planning to eat friers this summer,” said Pa. “It may be she took a few cockerels out of this flock, looking on them as meat.” “Yes, and replaced them with pullets that will be layers,” Ma guessed. “It would be Mrs. Boast all over. A more generous woman never lived.”"
- 9 single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance wordnet
- 10 One of the items in a hierarchy.
"mired in layers of deceit"
- 11 A shoot of a plant, laid underground for growth.
- 12 an abstract place usually conceived as having depth wordnet
- 13 One in a stack of (initially transparent) drawing surfaces that comprise an image; used to keep elements of an image separate so that they can be modified independently from one another.
- 14 a relatively thin sheetlike expanse or region lying over or under another wordnet
- 15 One of the seven network switch pieces in the Open Systems Interconnection model: application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical.
- 16 An alternative keymap accessed through a modifier key or toggle.
Verb
- 1 To cut or divide into layers. ambitransitive
- 2 make or form a layer wordnet
- 3 To arrange in layers. ambitransitive
"Layer the ribbons on top of one another to make an attractive pattern."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Without the ozone layer, we would be in danger."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "layer"?
Common synonyms include: level, stratum, appleton layer, applied, apply covering, apply liquid.
How do you use "layer" in a sentence?
Without the ozone layer, we would be in danger.
How do you pronounce "layer"?
Pronounced /lɛə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Appears at first glance to be from Middle English leyer, leyare (“a layer of stones or bricks”), equivalent to lay + -er. In which case, ultimately identical to etymology 2 below. For the pronunciation compare prayer. However, this word layer (referring to a thickness of a material covering a surface) has also been argued to be from a respelling of an obsolete sense of the word lair that was once used by farmers, which had to do with soil. The connecting sense between the usual meaning of lair and the specialised farming meaning was: an area where cows typically rest, the ground being fertilised by their waste. Related to lie, ledger.
Etymology 2
From lay + -er.