LAYER (layer)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: layer   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does layer mean? 

• LAYER (noun)
  The noun LAYER has 5 senses:

1. single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance

2. a relatively thin sheetlike expanse or region lying over or under another

3. an abstract place usually conceived as having depth

4. a hen that lays eggs

5. thin structure composed of a single thickness of cells

  Familiarity information: LAYER used as a noun is common.

• LAYER (verb)
  The verb LAYER has 1 sense:

1. make or form a layer

  Familiarity information: LAYER used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LAYER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bed; layer

Context example:

slices of hard-boiled egg on a bed of spinach

Hypernyms ("layer" is a kind of...):

artefact; artifact (a man-made object taken as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "layer"):

tier (one of two or more layers one atop another)

wall (a layer of material that encloses space)

ply ((usually in combinations) one of several layers of cloth or paper or wood as in plywood)

overlay (a layer of decorative material (such as gold leaf or wood veneer) applied over a surface)

lift (one of the layers forming the heel of a shoe or boot)

interlayer (a layer placed between other layers)

cushion (the layer of air that supports a hovercraft or similar vehicle)

course; row ((construction) a layer of masonry)

blanket (a layer of lead surrounding the highly reactive core of a nuclear reactor)

backing; mount (something forming a back that is added for strengthening)

Holonyms ("layer" is a part of...):

laminate (a sheet of material made by bonding two or more sheets or layers)

Derivation:

layer (make or form a layer)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A relatively thin sheetlike expanse or region lying over or under another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("layer" is a kind of...):

part; region (the extended spatial location of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "layer"):

snow (a layer of snowflakes (white crystals of frozen water) covering the ground)

cell wall (a rigid layer of polysaccharides enclosing the membrane of plant and prokaryotic cells; maintains the shape of the cell and serves as a protective barrier)

upper mantle (the upper part of the mantle)

troposphere (the lowest atmospheric layer; from 4 to 11 miles high (depending on latitude))

tropopause (the region of discontinuity between the troposphere and the stratosphere)

thermosphere (the atmospheric layer between the mesosphere and the exosphere)

Earth's surface; surface (the outermost level of the land or sea)

stratosphere (the atmospheric layer between the troposphere and the mesosphere)

ozone layer; ozonosphere (a layer in the stratosphere (at approximately 20 miles) that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun)

mesosphere (the atmospheric layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere)

mantle (the layer of the earth between the crust and the core)

lower mantle (the deeper part of the mantle)

geosphere; lithosphere (the solid part of the earth consisting of the crust and outer mantle)

hydrosphere (the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor)

exosphere (the outermost atmospheric layer)

crust; Earth's crust (the outer layer of the Earth)

chromosphere (a gaseous layer of the sun's atmosphere (extending from the photosphere to the corona) that is visible during a total eclipse of the sun)

asthenosphere (the lower layer of the crust)

stratum (one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock))

Derivation:

layer (make or form a layer)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An abstract place usually conceived as having depth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

layer; level; stratum

Context example:

the mind functions on many strata simultaneously

Hypernyms ("layer" is a kind of...):

place (an abstract mental location)

Derivation:

layer (make or form a layer)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A hen that lays eggs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("layer" is a kind of...):

biddy; hen (adult female chicken)

Derivation:

lay (lay eggs)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Thin structure composed of a single thickness of cells

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("layer" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "layer"):

hypodermis (layer of cells that secretes the chitinous cuticle in e.g. arthropods)

blastoderm; blastodisc; germinal area; germinal disc (a layer of cells on the inside of the blastula)

Derivation:

layer (make or form a layer)

• LAYER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they layer    ... he / she / it layers   
Past simple: layered   
Past participle: layered   
-ing form: layering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make or form a layer

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

layer the different colored sands

Hypernyms (to "layer" is one way to...):

forge; form; mold; mould; shape; work (make something, usually for a specific function)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

layer (thin structure composed of a single thickness of cells)

layer (single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance)

layer (an abstract place usually conceived as having depth)

layer (a relatively thin sheetlike expanse or region lying over or under another)

 Context examples 

Adrenal cancer that starts in the outside layer of the adrenal gland is called adrenocortical carcinoma.

(Adrenal cancer, NCI Dictionary)

A rare, fast-growing tumor that forms in one of the inner layers of the meninges (thin layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord).

(Anaplastic (Malignant) Meningioma, NCI Dictionary)

Rapid swelling of the deep layers of the skin due to transient vascular leakage of serous fluid.

(Angioedema, NCI Thesaurus)

The layer of cells that lines the lumen of the aorta.

(Aorta Endothelium, NCI Thesaurus)

Cell features include nuclei that are not basally located and have increased size, and there may be cell layering.

(Adenoma of the Mouse Intestinal Tract, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

The outside layer of these glands makes hormones that help your body respond to stress and regulate your blood pressure and water and salt balance.

(Addison Disease, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Rather than a solid ice layer, there is likely to be a porous mixture of rocky materials in which ice fills the pores, researchers found.

(Where is the Ice on Ceres?, NASA)

"It's important to understand what is going on in the subsurface layer," says geoscientist Cliff Riebe.

(Study explores how rock expands near soil surface in Sierra Nevada, National Science Foundation)

The TiS2 coating acts as a buffer layer.

(Creating Better Lithium-Ion Batteries Made Possible with New Discovery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The smooth muscle tissue present in the tunica media which is the middle layer of the aortic wall.

(Aorta Smooth Muscle Tissue, NCI Thesaurus)