lay into
Britishverb
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to attack forcefully
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to berate severely
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Attack physically, The boys ganged up and laid into Bobby .
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Scold vigorously, as in The teacher laid into her aide when she learned he had left the children alone in the schoolyard . [Early 1800s] Also see pitch into .
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.
Watching the former supermodel lay into the young hopeful in front of millions of viewers still ranks as one of the show's most shocking moments, 20 years later.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
But instead of continuing to lay into the Directors Guild of America members, Kimmel praised, the below-the-line workers who stood with their guilds, bringing a group onstage to be applauded.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2024
In the third sketch, airing Dec. 10, 2011, the queen and Philip lay into Kate about not giving them a royal heir.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2022
It’s not for Roy to really lay into him the way he does with everyone else; it’s actually more devastating for him to just not be bothered at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2021
Before I got home, he wanted to lay into me.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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.
