lays down

verb

present tense third-person singular of lay down
1
as in enacts
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 declares
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 specifies
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 relinquishes
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lays down
  1. enacts
  2. declares
  3. specifies
  4. relinquishes
  5. passes
  6. asserts
  7. defines
  8. renders
Verb
  • The leader who takes bodyful ownership of their life and enacts disciplined practices to sense its rhythms will not only enjoy greater harmony and wellbeing but bring greater coherence to their work and to their world.
    — Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • On just one unchanging set, an old-time concert hall designed by Rachel Hauck and made appropriately ominous, a tiny ensemble enacts a whole Greek tragedy of love and sacrifice that goes from the land of the living to the underworld and back.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 22 July 2026
Definition of enacts
Verb
  • D’Arcy closes the window with an air of steely resolve, and in doing so declares the Rhaenyra who might have mourned her half-sister as dead and gone.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Its exterior wall declares its name in bold black-and-white graphics.
    — Carolyn Heller, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of declares
Verb
  • The document also specifies that the tax would apply to any data centers located in space.
    — Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The legislation also specifies that implementation depends on legislative funding.
    — McKenna Mobley, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of specifies
Verb
  • Could this be the anarchic mind that emerges when the ego relinquishes its hold?
    — Michael Pollan, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
  • If a player chooses not to negotiate with the Panthers, that player will be unable to sign elsewhere, unless Carolina relinquishes his rights by not offering him a tender.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 11 Jan. 2026
Definition of relinquishes
Verb
  • If the legislation passes and is signed by the governor, a vehicle's decibel level would have to remain within the limits established when the vehicle was originally purchased.
    — Terell Bailey, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As time passes and questions remain unanswered, the film shows how grief connects, relationships change, and new perspectives emerge.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of passes
Verb
  • Taiwan’s government asserts the island’s de facto sovereignty, and the Taiwanese public overwhelmingly prefers to maintain the status quo of autonomy from China.
    — Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The filing puts his value at some $600 million in assets and business interests at the time of his death, and asserts that Tracey is looking for her rightful share.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of asserts
Verb
  • The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines personally identifiable information as data that can distinguish or trace a person’s identity, either alone or when combined with linkable information.
    — Nicole M. Bennett, The Conversation, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Nowhere to be found in this section, or the entire CBA, is the part that defines what a woman is.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of defines
Verb
  • Any page that’s readable by a human could also be correctly interpreted by an AI scraping tool that simply renders the full webpage and uses optical character recognition on an image of the output.
    — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026
  • However, a severe injury now renders any potential deal for the 20-year-old virtually impossible, altering his immediate future at the club.
    — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of renders
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

lays by
lays down
lays eyes on
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Cite this Entry

“Lays down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lays%20down. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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