What does "laying" mean?

The act by which something is laid (in any sense).

What is a synonym for "laying"?

Common synonyms include: egg laying, apply, apply covering, brick laying, coat, cover.

/ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/ noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
The act by which something is laid (in any sense).
"You may get a larger number of eggs within a given time, but the later layings will not give you average good chickens, when you come to hatch such product."
2
the production of eggs (especially in birds) wordnet

Verb

"Instead of laying off these workers, why don't we just cut their hours?"