layer

plural layers

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

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

   1 more example

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

   1. 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.

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

   I find seven-layer cake a bit too rich.

   1 more example

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

   2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition

   Synonyms: stratum

3. One of the items in a hierarchy.

   mired in layers of deceit

   1 more example

   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.

   2001, C/C++ Users Journal, volume 19, page 38

4. by analogy to a stack of transparenciescomputer graphicsOne 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.
5. computingOne of the seven network switch pieces in the Open Systems Interconnection model: application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical.
6. computingAn alternative keymap accessed through a modifier key or toggle.

present singular third person layers · participle present layering · participle past layered · past layered

1. ambitransitiveTo cut or divide into layers.
2. ambitransitiveTo arrange in layers.

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

plural layers

1. 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.

   1890, The Argosy, volume 49, page 183

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

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

   1 more example

   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.

   1. A hen kept to lay eggs; a breed of chicken bred to maximize laying output.

      We keep a flock of layers and flock of broilers.

      1 more example

      “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.”

      1941, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little Town on the Prairie

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

plural Layers

1. A surname.