layer — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A single thickness of some material covering a surface.

   Examples

   Wrap the loaf in two layers of aluminum foil before putting it in the oven.

   After the first coat of paint dried, he applied another layer.

2. A single thickness of some material covering a surface. An item of clothing worn under or over another.

   Examples

   It's cold now but it will warm up this afternoon. Make sure you wear layers.

3. A (usually) horizontal deposit; a stratum.

   Examples

   I find seven-layer cake a bit too rich.

   Sometimes, the underlying layers are exposed by erosion, revealing the story of the rocks like an open book.

4. One of the items in a hierarchy.

   Examples

   mired in layers of deceit

   More examples (1)

   Right above the database access layer sits a number cruncher that performs any calculations that a particular request may require, such as computing a standard deviation. In many cases, this layer just forwards raw numbers.

5. 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.

6. One of the seven network switch pieces in the Open Systems Interconnection model: application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical.

7. An alternative keymap accessed through a modifier key or toggle.

Verb

1. To cut or divide into layers.

   Usage

   • Transitive or intransitive

2. To arrange in layers.

   Usage

   • Transitive or intransitive

   Examples

   Layer the ribbons on top of one another to make an attractive pattern.

Noun

1. A person who lays anything, such as tiles or a wager.

   Examples

   If fortune ever favoured any venturesome layer of bets, Tom Elliot was certainly the one that day.

2. A mature female bird, insect, etc. that is able to lay eggs.

   Examples

   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.

   When dealing with an infestation of headlice, the first step is to eliminate the layers.

3. 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.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   “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.”

   We keep a flock of layers and flock of broilers.

4. A shoot of a plant, laid underground for growth.

Noun

1. single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance

   Synonyms

   bed

   Broader terms

   artifactartefact

   Examples

   slices of hard-boiled egg on a bed of spinach

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

   Broader terms

   regionpart

3. an abstract place usually conceived as having depth

   Synonyms

   levelstratum

   Broader terms

   place

   Examples

   a good actor communicates on several levels

   a simile has at least two layers of meaning

   More examples (1)

   the mind functions on many strata simultaneously

4. a hen that lays eggs

   Broader terms

   henbiddy

5. thin structure composed of a single thickness of cells

   Broader terms

   structureanatomical structurecomplex body partbodily structurebody structure

Verb

1. make or form a layer

   Broader terms

   shapeformworkmoldmouldforge

   Examples

   layer the different colored sands