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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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Recent Examples of lay down
Then my sister lay down next to me.
—
NPR, 26 Nov. 2025
Millions of Russian men, unwilling to take on lower-status work, lay down on the couch and took to drink.
—Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Second, disassociate from Hamas and other terrorist groups, including Iran, lay down all arms, and come to the table with a plan to live in harmony with Israel.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2025
Hamas fighters who lay down their arms will also be given amnesty and allowed to leave Gaza under the plan.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay down
NPR, 26 Nov. 2025
Millions of Russian men, unwilling to take on lower-status work, lay down on the couch and took to drink.
—Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Second, disassociate from Hamas and other terrorist groups, including Iran, lay down all arms, and come to the table with a plan to live in harmony with Israel.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2025
Hamas fighters who lay down their arms will also be given amnesty and allowed to leave Gaza under the plan.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay down
Verb
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In June, the administration enacted a travel ban on 19 countries -- mostly majority-Muslim countries and those with a contentious relationship with the United States, such as Cuba.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
-
If Social Security reform is not enacted before then, policymakers may face a tough choice as to how to implement benefit cuts.—
Lorie Konish,
CNBC,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 21 as the official day of observation.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Mar. 2026
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In the 2016 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, one of the two attackers posted a message on Facebook declaring allegiance to the former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Sánchez did not specify the number of troops who were aboard the Hercules C-130.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The van had been stolen from Miami-Dade County, according to the news release that did not specify when.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The plan calls for Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza to relinquish their weapons, placing the responsibility of all arms in the hands of a new governing authority.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
20 Mar. 2026
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Microsoft relinquished its right to be OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider, but retained a clause that requires all of OpenAI’s API calls, or calls to access its AI models, to be routed through Azure, the reporting noted.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Judiciary Committee passed the bill with all Republicans and one Democrat voting against it.—
Shaun Boyd,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
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Beijing was reportedly in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and Qatari liquefied natural gas carriers to pass through the strait.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tehran praised its attack as a show of strength, even as Israel's military asserts that Iranian missile launches have decreased since the war began.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
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Tehran praised the attack as show of strength, even as Israel’s military asserts that Iranian missile launches have gradually decreased in frequency since the war began.—
Alon Bernstein,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The mustache required fewer pixels to animate than a mouth, and the overalls helped clearly define Mario’s movements.—
Alexander Kaplan,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
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From the very beginning, ABC was making a big bet on a figure whose defining, and perhaps most relatable, quality is her impulse to burn it all down.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Investigators rendered first aid at the scene, and Parker was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Madden said.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
17 Mar. 2026
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That shot rendering the Cherry Blossom tree using the pink clouds is stunning.—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20down. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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