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 One of the mind opener visions was seeing myself at the ceremony laying down on the mattress and facing my dead body right in front of me. Photovogue, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2024 When recording his ninth solo album, Flow Critical Lucidity, Thurston Moore stayed local, holing up in a London studio near his home in Stoke Newington to lay down tracks. Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Sep. 2024 The winner of the Fury-Usyk rematch will be one of the world’s best fighters, and Dubois is not coming to London to lay down. Brian Mazique, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024 The royal couple, who have been together for more than 20 years now, can be seen holding hands, laying down next to one another and sitting on a picnic blanket with the family dog, Orla. Rachel Burchfield, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 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 8 Oct. 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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