The bandits hid along the forest road, ready to waylay any traveler who passed.
Source: tatoeba (13557503)
Waylay
//ˈweɪleɪ//
Synonyms for "waylay" (13 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
Translations
37 translations across 19 languages.
Armenian
1 entries- դարանակալել verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Bengali
1 entries- পথে ওত পাতিয়া থাকা verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Bulgarian
3 entries- заговарям verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- правя засада verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- причаквам verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 攔路搶劫 /拦路抢劫 verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
Czech
2 entries- odchytnout si verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- počíhat si verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Dutch
3 entries- belagen verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- onderscheppen verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- opwachten verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Estonian
1 entries- varitsema verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Finnish
3 entries- hyökätä väijyksistä verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- väijyä verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- yllättää verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
French
2 entries- comploter verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- embusquer verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Galician
1 entries- aseitar verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
German
3 entries- auflauern verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- auflauern verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- wegelagern verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Ido
1 entries- pisamar verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
Japanese
1 entries- 待ち伏せする verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Māori
3 entries- tāwhanga verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- whakamoho verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- whakamoho verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
Polish
3 entries- czatować verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- napadać z zasadzki verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- napaść z zasadzki verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
Portuguese
1 entries- interpelar verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
Russian
4 entries- поджида́ть verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- подкарау́ливать verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
- подкарау́ливать verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- подстерега́ть verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Spanish
2 entries- abordar verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
- coger por banda verb (to accost or intercept unexpectedly)
Swahili
1 entries- otea verb (to lie in wait for and attack from ambush)
Sample sentences
5 total sentences available.
Reporters tried to waylay the senator as she exited the building, shouting questions over one another.
Source: tatoeba (13557505)
Bandits often waylay travelers on the mountain road.
Source: tatoeba (13570106)
Oh, youthful benefactress! how often in succeeding years, standing in solitary places, and thinking of thee with grief of heart and perfect love—how often have I wished that, as in ancient times, the curse of a father was believed to have a supernatural power, and to pursue its object with a fatal necessity of self-fulfilment; even so the benediction of a heart oppressed with gratitude might have a like prerogative, might have power given to it from above to chase, to haunt, to waylay, to overtake, to pursue thee into the central darkness of a London brothel, or (if it were possible) into the darkness of the grave, there to awaken thee with an authentic message of peace and forgiveness, and of final reconciliation!
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 5 available sentences.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.