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

The result was a swift agreement among the nation’s leading banks to lay aside competitive instincts to come to First Republic’s aid.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 17, 2023

"I think it is incumbent on the leaders of the country to lay aside their differences and create an environment where their people can flourish."

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2023

He could afford to lay aside his anger against the Trojans.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

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