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.
Cepeda had been an architect of the president’s so-called Total Peace plan to get cocaine-trafficking groups to lay down their arms through simultaneous negotiations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
"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
After he used the bathroom, he saw the complainant's bed in the adjoining bedroom, lay down on the end of it "and fell straight asleep".
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Karan Mahajan was 6 years old when he saw a family friend lay down in front of a bus during a protest against India’s Mandal Commission affirmative action movement.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
Two young boys lay down mats for us to sit on, and then they build a fire.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
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.
