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

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

The episode began with Mark Ballas being murdered in front of the group and having to awkwardly lie down in a coffin surrounded by a ring of fire, because sure, why not? —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026

The girl vomited and went to lie down where Marino allegedly rapes her, the prosecutor added. —Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 26 Feb. 2026

Pancaking is when a female eagle lies down flat in the bowl of the nest to test and shape it — and can signal eggs are nigh. —Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 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.