laying down

verb

present participle of lay down
1
as in enacting
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 declaring
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 specifying
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 relinquishing
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laying down
  1. enacting
  2. declaring
  3. specifying
  4. relinquishing
  5. passing
  6. asserting
  7. defining
  8. rendering
Verb
  • Last week, Carpenter told board members that enacting an 18-month moratorium could potentially lead to a lawsuit against the city.
    — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Dog Days lends itself to exactly this kind of paranoid reading, not only describing but enacting the magical thinking of trauma survivors.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 July 2026
Definition of enacting
Verb
  • Montse declaring herself the daughter of God, and that the words her daughters sing are dictated to her by God and part of her mission to save humanity via music.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 30 July 2026
  • The Tates’ triumphant return to Miami functioned as something of a litmus test for conservative personalities, with some declaring that their brand of masculinity had no place in the party.
    — Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
Definition of declaring
Verb
  • Some requirements include specifying that data centers larger than 10,000 square feet are allowed on industrial property by right, or on commercial property with a specific use permit.
    — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 July 2026
  • But officials have since updated the death toll to three without specifying which was the latest victim.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of specifying
Verb
  • For Harrison, the collaboration also meant relinquishing some control.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 22 July 2026
  • Clearly, the Flyers are comfortable with relinquishing first-round picks in their next four drafts as there is more value in having a true 1C in Carlsson.
    — Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of relinquishing
Verb
  • It was instead caused by cold air plummeting to the ground from the upper levels of a passing thunderstorm, experts says.
    — Mark Price July 30, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2026
  • On the council, Raman gave the DSA some of its biggest policy wins, strengthening renter protections and passing a significant reform to the city’s rent stabilization ordinance.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
Definition of passing
Verb
  • There’s another comparison between Homer and the Bible that demonstrates parallels between Jesus and Odysseus while asserting Jesus’ superiority,MacDonald says.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Anthropic’s guardrail was a sentence in a prompt asserting the internet was not there.
    — Sandy Carter, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of asserting
Verb
  • The ultimate Cape Cod movie, Jaws was first released that year and became a defining cultural moment of summer 1975, while Violent City was a favorite of Bourdain’s, its Ennio Morricone title track in high rotation on his cooking playlists.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 July 2026
  • The 2026 season’s defining commercial event was the sale of two franchises.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 July 2026
Definition of defining
Verb
  • Apart from polluting ecosystems and leaving toxic residues on human food sources, these aggressive chemicals drive pests to develop genetic resistance, rendering treatments ineffective over time.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The company's clashes with unions date back years, with battles over employment status, arbitration proceedings, working conditions, and more rendering it a marquee villain in the eyes of labor advocates.
    — Paxton Honerkamp, CNBC, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of rendering
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.

Browse Nearby Words

laying by
laying down
laying eyes on
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Cite this Entry

“Laying down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laying%20down. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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