laid
Americanverb
verb
Other Word Forms
Compare meaning
How does laid compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Laid means "set down." If you built a brick wall, and then when it's done your neighbor complains that the wall crosses onto his property, tell him, "too late! The brick has already been laid." Laid is the past participle of the verb, lay, which means set down. So something that has been laid has already been set down. You might scramble up the eggs the chickens laid yesterday. Before your guests come over, your table should have been laid. Or you might examine the foundations that the builder laid down for the house you're building. We often use laid if we want to emphasize how carefully something has been done.
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.
“We have built real momentum and laid the foundations for the company’s next chapter.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
This may be a Nato summit but it's the US president who's had the metaphorical red carpet laid out for him.
From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026
Britain's King Charles III laid on a state visit for Trump at Windsor Castle in September 2025 complete with yet another flyover and lashings of pomp and ceremony.
From Barron's • Jul. 7, 2026
That is false for all the reasons Jed and Sam laid out.
From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026
He put his arms as far as they would reach about her neck and laid his head on her shaggy wool.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
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.
