lie down

verb

lay down; lain down; lying down; lies down

intransitive verb

1

: to submit meekly or abjectly to defeat, disappointment, or insult

—used chiefly in the phrase take (something) lying down

… if Walker does get the go-ahead to implement his anti-union law, the teachers in Madison aren't going to take it lying down, Matthew says. They may walk out on the job again.

—Matthew Rothschild

2

: to fail to perform or to neglect one's part deliberately

—used chiefly in the phrase lie down on the job

While the Sanitation Department was accused of lying down on the job, the police were accused of harassment …

—Walter Thabit

see also lie entry 1 sense 1b

Examples of lie down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So your prime minister gave an address Saturday and said to the IRGC, to those who lay down their arms no harm shall come. —CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026

Val Chmerkovskiy reveals diagnosis BPPV causes brief periods of dizziness and is often set off by changes in the head's position, like lying down, turning over or sitting up in bed, according to the Mayo Clinic. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026

Crews will first grind down the old surface and then lay down new asphalt in a project that officials say will run until mid-summer. —Jim Riccioli, jsonline.com, 3 Mar. 2026

Some girls sat back-to-back, leaning onto each other, and some boys lay down. —Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lie down

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

Video

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.