lay aside

British  

verb

1. to abandon or reject

2. to store or reserve for future use

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lay aside Idioms  

1. Give up, abandon, as in He laid aside all hopes of winning first prize . [First half of 1400s]

2. Also, lay away ; lay by . Set apart for a reason, save for the future, as in They lay aside enough to pay the rent , or Because coffee prices were rising, she laid by enough for a month , or The store laid away the winter coat I wanted . [Early 1700s] The first variant gave rise, about 1970, to the term layaway plan , in which merchandise is laid away for a buyer who pays a deposit and receives it when payment is made in full. Also see lay down , def. 4; set aside .

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Example Sentences

But of course everything is only temporary, including the good health I felt sure would enable me to lay aside the cane when my back was better.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

“Let’s lay aside the Facebook post we’ll use to justify our ‘rightness’ and skip the snarky meme demonizing the ‘other’ party,” she wrote in a post to her constituents.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2025

“This court is wary that jurors from Shelby County will not be able to lay aside their opinions or impressions and render a verdict based upon the evidence presented,” Mitchell said while announcing her ruling.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024

“I had them all when I was young, so I had to lay aside what I wanted to do,” she said.

From New York Times • May 23, 2023

He found space to lay aside the presents in his arms.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

Related Words

• adjourn
• arrest
• bar
• cease
• defer
• discontinue
• eject
• exclude
• file
• halt
• interrupt
• postpone
• put off
• reject
• rule out
• shelve
• stay
• waive
• withhold