Meaning & use
layover
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A wait between two flights or stages of a journey, especially at an airport.
Grammar: Countable: say a layover, a three-hour layover, or long layovers.
Patterns
- a layover in a place
- a layover between flights
- a long/short layover
We had a four-hour layover in Chicago before the flight to Tokyo.
Because of the storm, our layover turned into an overnight stay.
Try to book a flight with a short layover if you're in a hurry.
nouncountableAmerican
A short stay in a place during a longer trip, especially when traveling by air.
Grammar: Countable: often used with a time phrase, such as a two-day layover.
Patterns
- a layover in a city
- a two-day layover
- during a layover
We planned a two-day layover in Reykjavik to see the city.
A long layover can be a chance to explore a new place.
She used her layover in Singapore to visit a friend.
Word forms
| plural | layovers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a long layover
- I don't mind a long layover if the airport is comfortable.
- a short layover
- A short layover can be stressful if your first flight is delayed.
- have a layover
- We'll have a layover in Dubai for about three hours.
- a layover in
- There's a layover in Madrid on the way to Lisbon.
- an overnight layover
- The cheapest ticket includes an overnight layover in Istanbul.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stopover
- Stopover is more common in British English and can suggest a longer stay, while layover is the usual American word for a wait between flights.
- connection
- A connection is the flight you take after the wait, not the wait itself; you might say 'I have a two-hour connection.'
- stop
- Stop is a general word for any pause in a journey, including trains and buses, and is less specific to air travel.
Word family
- lay over phrasal verb
- To stay somewhere for a short time before continuing a journey.
Commonly confused: layover or layover vs. stopover? layover or layover vs. lay over?
layover vs layover vs. stopover
In travel, a layover is usually a short wait at an airport, while a stopover often means a longer stay, sometimes a day or more, in a city between flights.
layover vs layover vs. lay over
Layover is a noun ('a long layover'); lay over is a verb phrase ('we lay over in Paris for a night').
Practice
We had a six-hour ______ in Seoul before our connecting flight.
Choose one answer.
The noun 'layover' fits after 'a six-hour' to name the wait. 'Lay over' is a verb phrase and cannot follow 'a six-hour'. 'Layover in' needs a place after it. 'Layovering' is not a standard noun form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “layover”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.