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.
"It wasn't so much as like a celebration, just thank God I'm done. I can just lay down for a second."
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
WINDER, Georgia—Ayden Gatlin-Wright lay down on the living room sofa and pulled up his shirt to expose his stomach to get an injection of a weight-loss drug.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
She lay down in the arms of some men wearing green Mexico soccer jerseys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Australia opened their T20 World Cup campaign with a 65-run victory over fellow contenders South Africa to lay down an early marker in Group One.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
She was also confident enough to lay down rules about when families had to stop using them.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
