layer

noun

ADJECTIVE

▪ fine, thin

▪

Everything was covered with a fine layer of dust.

▪ deep, dense, heavy, thick

▪

Mulch with a generous layer of peat or compost.

▪ bottom, inner, innermost, lower, middle, outer, outermost, surface, top, upper, uppermost

▪

the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere

▪ double, single

▪

The product is made from a single layer of plastic.

▪ added, additional, extra

▪

They put on thick hats and extra layers of clothing.

▪ alternating

▪

The recipe calls for alternating layers of meat sauce and pasta.

▪ protective

▪

a protective layer of black plastic

▪ ozone

▪

holes in the ozone layer

▪ cloud

▪

We're flying just below a cloud layer at 33 000 feet.

VERB + LAYER

▪ form

▪

Use enough gravel to form a layer about 50mm thick.

▪ add, apply

▪

He paints a base coat, allows it to dry, and then adds layers of paint.

▪ be covered by, be covered with

▪

The body had been covered with a thin layer of soil.

▪ peel away, peel back, remove

▪

I decided to peel back the layers of this story. (figurative)

LAYER + NOUN

▪ cake (esp. AmE)

PREPOSITION

▪ beneath a/the layer, under a/the layer

▪

Beneath the surface layer of the skin are several further layers.

▪ in layers

▪

The building is constructed in layers.

▪ layer of

▪

an extra layer of clothing

▪

a layer of bureaucracy

▪

multiple layers of meaning (figurative)

PHRASES

▪ layer after layer, layer upon layer

▪

The remains lay buried under layer upon layer of black earth.