1
as in to enact
to put into effect through legislative or authoritative action
the city council promises to lay down new ordinances that will force dog walkers to clean up after their animals
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to declare
to state clearly and strongly
at the risk of their popularity, the parents laid down the rules for the party and wouldn't accept any arguments
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to specify
to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly
the supervisor laid down the procedure for a complaint of sexual harassment
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4
as in to relinquish
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress
commanded the surrounded troops to lay down their weapons
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lay down
Then my sister lay down next to me.
—
NPR, 26 Nov. 2025
Millions of Russian men, unwilling to take on lower-status work, lay down on the couch and took to drink.
—Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Second, disassociate from Hamas and other terrorist groups, including Iran, lay down all arms, and come to the table with a plan to live in harmony with Israel.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2025
Hamas fighters who lay down their arms will also be given amnesty and allowed to leave Gaza under the plan.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay down
NPR, 26 Nov. 2025
Millions of Russian men, unwilling to take on lower-status work, lay down on the couch and took to drink.
—Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Second, disassociate from Hamas and other terrorist groups, including Iran, lay down all arms, and come to the table with a plan to live in harmony with Israel.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2025
Hamas fighters who lay down their arms will also be given amnesty and allowed to leave Gaza under the plan.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay down
Verb
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The House passed a bipartisan housing bill that would enact new policies to boost housing supply and ease the affordability crisis plaguing the nation.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Feb. 2026
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It was initially enacted in Germany and Austria and then spread to 11 other countries.—
Jordan Green,
Memphis Commercial Appeal,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The outbreaks have mostly affected children and have come as infectious disease experts warn that rising public distrust of vaccines generally may be contributing to the spread of a disease once declared eradicated by public health officials.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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They might also be saddened that 250 years after declaring independence from a tyrannical British king, the American system of government has arguably less democratic accountability for its leaders than the British one.—
Idrees Kahloon,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In 2023, Mulready specified 53 complaints.—
J.C. Hallman,
Oklahoman,
10 Feb. 2026
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Although agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limit the amount of arsenic in public and bottled drinking water to 10 ppb, the FDA has no regulations that specify a safe level of arsenic for most foods, including candy.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The manager of Kennesaw’s controversial Civil War shop has agreed to relinquish the downtown store and several other properties that were subject to a lengthy fight over the late owner’s estate.—
Shaddi Abusaid,
AJC.com,
7 Feb. 2026
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Angell relinquished not only his role as chair, but as a board member entirely.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The rules committee voted Tuesday night immediately after voting to pass another measure that would advance the GOP’s voter ID bill, the SAVE America Act.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Feb. 2026
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Those traveling into the Persian Gulf must pass through Iranian waters.—
JON GAMBRELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Demand independent confirmation of whatever statements are asserted as facts.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
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Going to the Super Bowl is about participating in monoculture while simultaneously asserting your singularity.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But looming is the question of whether the federal immigration officers who pulled the triggers in both cases actually broke the law, a question that will come down to complicated issues that are much harder to define than the outrage that prompted calls for accountability.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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That balance of a decades-old history and a new brand’s need to establish itself in its own right shapes the leadership challenge facing Strazik, who joined GE in 2000 when it was still led by Jack Welch, one of the defining — and most debated — business leaders of the 20th century.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Officers rendered aid until emergency services arrived, and the boy was taken to UofL Hospital.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
10 Feb. 2026
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Les Archives, located in Paris’ 6th arrondissement, is a secondhand designer store rendered entirely in millennial pink.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20down. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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