lay down
Britishverb
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to place on the ground, etc
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to relinquish or discard
to lay down one's life
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to formulate (a rule, principle, etc)
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to build or begin to build
the railway was laid down as far as Manchester
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to record (plans) on paper
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to convert (land) into pasture
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to store or stock
to lay down wine
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informal to wager or bet
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informal (tr, adverb) to record (tracks) in a studio
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Give something up, surrender, as in They laid down their arms . [c. 1300]
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Formulate, specify, as in The club laid down new membership rules . [Late 1400s]
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Also, lay down one's life . Sacrifice one's life, as in He would willingly lay down his life for his children . [c. 1600]
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Store for the future, as in It was a great vintage year for burgundy, and Mark laid down several cases . [Early 1800s] Also see lay aside , def. 2.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I lay down for about an hour and woke up by myself. I called the people next to me and got out of the mine together," Wang said, according to CCTV.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
"We have made our proposal," Zelensky said, urging Russia to lay down arms "and move to real diplomacy".
From BBC • May 5, 2026
He also called on the regime to lay down its arms.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026
But California would not prove to be the be-all and end-all for the rapper, who chose to lay down more permanent roots in Utah, just outside of Salt Lake City.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 18, 2026
He lay down again and kept his mouth shut.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
