lay down

verb

Definition of lay downnext
1
as in to enact
to put into effect through legislative or authoritative action the city council promises to lay down new ordinances that will force dog walkers to clean up after their animals

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2
as in to declare
to state clearly and strongly at the risk of their popularity, the parents laid down the rules for the party and wouldn't accept any arguments

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3
as in to specify
to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly the supervisor laid down the procedure for a complaint of sexual harassment

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4
as in to relinquish
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress commanded the surrounded troops to lay down their weapons

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lay down Licensed installers remove old flooring, prep the subfloor and lay down your new floors. — Sharon Wu, USA Today, 17 July 2026 On Friday, Fanara’s daughter Michelle Fanara said, her father was working on a project at a neighboring property, stepped inside Palermo, lay down to rest and did not get up. — Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026 Maria put on a mask against the putrid smell and lay down on the ground. — Philip Wang, Time, 29 June 2026 First, a spider would lay down an anchor point on a surface where green tree ants were likely to forage, before attaching it to a tension line connecting back to the main web. — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 23 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for lay down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay down
  1. enact
  2. declare
  3. specify
  4. relinquish
  5. pass
  6. assert
  7. define
  8. render
Verb
  • Carrie Schmidt and Kimberly Twente were among a group of residents behind the petition seeking to enact a ban on large data centers in Edgerton.
    — Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026
  • What started in one state court has now spread across the country, with a plethora of athletes filing lawsuits against the NCAA, and now SEC, over new guidelines enacted pertaining to the five-for-five eligibility.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of enact
Verb
  • As Sullivan declared the mistrial, another female juror closed her eyes, nodded slowly and bowed her head.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Eight years, 29 medications and 40 doctors later, his illness was declared treatment-resistant.
    — Kelly Rogers Victor, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of declare
Verb
  • The report didn’t specify the cause of the deaths, but said that the rain triggered landslides and other disasters.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Isar officials did not immediately specify the exact altitude and inclination of the Spectrum rocket’s final orbit.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of specify
Verb
  • His willingness to relinquish power set a powerful precedent for American leadership that resonated far beyond our state’s borders.
    — Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Atlanta never relinquished the lead and eliminated the Sixers.
    — Jason Jones, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of relinquish
Verb
  • The woeful run defense and pass rush didn’t prevent them from making a run in the playoffs last season.
    — Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • This hand that was as familiar to me as my own — the hand that, two hours earlier, had passed me a roll of toilet paper through the crack of our bathroom door — now felt strangely new.
    — Johanna Stein, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of pass
Verb
  • After going behind early to a Kai Havertz goal, PSG had to remain patient, before gradually asserting their authority in the contest.
    — Tom Burrows, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Thus Irving manages to have his cake and eat it too, by insisting on the tale’s authenticity while asserting his own skepticism.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of assert
Verb
  • The slump has sapped the power that has defined his offensive game, with no extra-base hits and just one RBI during that span.
    — Jesús Cano, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Its legacy animates both movements seeking greater inclusion and campaigns promising to restore a national unity defined in racial or cultural terms.
    — Faisal Devji, Time, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of define
Verb
  • On Lanai, one of Hawaii's smallest main islands, storm damage rendered a harbor that supplies much of the food and fuel to its 3,300 residents inoperable.
    — GENE JOHNSON, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026
  • Almost everything in this vast, artificial indoor garden, including the surrounding stands of bamboo and a woebegone girl sprouting angel wings, is rendered in the Belgian artist’s signature ash gray.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of render

Browse Nearby Words

lay by
lay down
layer
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Cite this Entry

“Lay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20down. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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