lay down

verb

laid down; laying down; lays down

transitive verb

1
: to give up : surrender
lay down your arms
2
a
: establish, prescribe
lay down a scale for a map
b
: to assert or command dogmatically
lay down the law
3
a
: store, preserve
laid down a young wine
b
: record
laying down songs for their new album
4
a
: to direct toward a target
lay down a barrage
b
: to hit along the ground
laid down a sacrifice bunt

intransitive verb

nonstandard : to lie down

Examples of lay down in a Sentence

the city council promises to lay down new ordinances that will force dog walkers to clean up after their animals at the risk of their popularity, the parents laid down the rules for the party and wouldn't accept any arguments
Recent Examples on the Web And by the way, if Hamas laid down its arms, surrendered, went into exile, the war would be over immediately. Eric Cortellessa/jerusalem, TIME, 8 Aug. 2024 Immediately following his third-place finish on Thursday, Lyles was seen laying down on the track on his back. Andy Swift, TVLine, 8 Aug. 2024 However, the result of the race was quickly bumped from the headlines when Lyles laid down on the track immediately following his crossing the finish line. David Close, CNN, 8 Aug. 2024 With only about 20 minutes remaining in the padded practice, Bateman then took off his pads and laid down on a side field before eventually exiting with the rest of the team once practice was over. Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 5 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lay down 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lay down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lay down was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near lay down

Cite this Entry

“Lay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lay%20down. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.

Kids Definition

lay down

verb
1
: establish sense 1, prescribe
lay down standards
2
: to state or declare forcefully
lay down the law

More from Merriam-Webster on lay down

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