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

Then during the pegging phase, players go back-and-forth laying down one card at a time, with points assigned to specific sequences. —Andrew Montequin, jsonline.com, 29 July 2025

After the race, Bubba shared a series of black-and-white photos on Instagram, which showed the driver, Amanda and their son laying down on the racetrack. —Adam England, People.com, 28 July 2025

For the Premier League Summer Series, a new field was laid down after FIFA took out their pitch at the end of the Club World Cup, but the venue that will host next year’s World Cup final still received underwhelming appraisals from the coaches. —Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 27 July 2025

Before the parade, authorities laid down 18.5 miles of fencing and installed 175 magnetometers to screen everyone who entered the restricted area to watch the parade or participate in the Army festival held that day. —Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 22 July 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