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

Synonyms

• enact
• pass

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

There was an unspoken gauntlet laid down: Who’s running this s— in the NBA? —David Aldridge, New York Times, 22 June 2025

Nelson recommends both friends laying down their swords and starting a respectful, ideally private, dialogue. —Charles Trepany, USA Today, 21 June 2025

Then, with one out, rookie Ryan Ritter laid down a beautiful bunt on a suicide squeeze to score Arcia. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 18 June 2025

Unwilling to take that news laying down, Rose begins to pursue legal options. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 12 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for lay down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Video

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

Kids Definition

lay down

verb

1

: establish sense 1, prescribe

lay down standards

2

: to state or declare forcefully

lay down the law