on his lap vs in his lap

Both "on his lap" and "in his lap" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "On his lap" is used when something is physically resting on top of the person's lap, while "in his lap" is used when something is contained within the person's lap.

Last updated: April 09, 2024 • 645 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"on his lap"

This phrase is used when something is physically resting on top of the person's lap.

Examples:

The cat sat on his lap while he read a book.
She placed the gift on his lap.
The child fell asleep on his lap.

Show examples from the web [+]

She's who you call when the C.E.O. of your Fortune 500 company crashes his Bentley with his 18-year-old mistress's head on his lap.
But the moment I saw me dad with Alphie on his lap... was an empty feeling in my heart, because I know he's out of work again.
I can't sit on his lap.
I used to love sitting on his lap while he smoked.
He's probably sitting somewhere with some woman on his lap.
He would sit me on his lap and spent hours teaching me sentences...
Grandmama can sit on his lap.
I suppose he's sitting somewhere with somebody on his lap... who doesn't care for him at all.
Washington is the figure with the purple robe on his lap.
Lovegrove killed himself a week after it was published, the novel on his lap.
You were late for school again this morning. The ventriloquist must first make us believe that a small boy is sitting on his lap.
I sat on his lap a few times, back in the day.
He's a homeless guy with a beard who asks girls to sit on his lap and try to find the North Pole.
Kohta's life is but a dream when little girls sit on his lap.
Judging by how long he's had that pizza box on his lap, I'd say he's having a great time.
Baskin chooses to depict the moment following the climax of the narrative: Isaac is seated, immobile, with the slaughtered lamb on his lap.
He will gather the little lambs and will take them on his lap» 6.
Why don't you sit on his lap?
She's who you call when the C.E.O. of your Fortune 500 company crashes his Bentley with his 18-year-old mistress's head on his lap.
We'd take the el to the ballpark, I'd sit on his lap and keep the scorecard.

Alternatives:

on top of his lap
resting on his lap
sitting on his lap
lying on his lap
perched on his lap

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"in his lap"

This phrase is used when something is contained within the person's lap.

Examples:

He held the puppy in his lap.
She found a note hidden in his lap.
The child placed the toy car in his lap.

Show examples from the web [+]

He had nodded off with his story in his lap.
I climbed in his lap and I hugged him so hard.
So he gets this dropped in his lap... it spooks him, car ends up in the ravine.
Sometimes Dad puts me in his lap and lets me steer the Jeep.
It's a picture of me in his lap.
You were sitting in his lap all night.
Avijit won't let me sit in his lap.
The mayor was just giving that hitchhiker a ride when she - well, technically he - passed out in his lap.
The second he passed out, they would have fallen in his lap.
He's a single doctor, so he's used to beautiful women just falling in his lap.
And in his lap is the severed head of her boyfriend.
I'm thinking the guy behind the wheel... who's not looking at us, has a rifle in his lap.
The soldier lays Pendragon down on a thick soft rug beside the fire, still holding his head in his lap and stroking his rain-soaked hair.
What kind of Slop Popper did Walter Cronkite have in his lap?
Then he put his head in his lap, And he was crying and really emotional about it.
You see, we didn't have any money, so we went third class, and there was a farmer on the opposite bench with cheese in his lap.
He looks down at his thin, dirty hands, twisting them in his lap. His face is a mask of anguish.
Who had her pointedly in his lap during that meeting with the German ambassador?
Ask or he gets his tea in his lap!
When he drove his Porsche, he'd hold her in his lap and let her steer.

Alternatives:

within his lap
inside his lap
contained in his lap
resting in his lap
sitting in his lap

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on his lap vs in his lap

"on his lap"

"in his lap"

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