lay down

verb

laid down; laying down; lays down

transitive verb

1

: to give up : surrender

lay down your arms

2

a

: establish, prescribe

lay down a scale for a map

b

: to assert or command dogmatically

lay down the law

3

a

: store, preserve

laid down a young wine

b

: record

laying down songs for their new album

4

a

: to direct toward a target

lay down a barrage

b

: to hit along the ground

laid down a sacrifice bunt

intransitive verb

nonstandard : to lie down

Synonyms

• constitute
• enact
• legislate
• make
• ordain
• pass

Examples of lay down in a Sentence

the city council promises to lay down new ordinances that will force dog walkers to clean up after their animals

at the risk of their popularity, the parents laid down the rules for the party and wouldn't accept any arguments

Recent Examples on the Web

This explains Microsoft aggressively laying down an AI foundation with Copilot (and, by the way, investing heavily in data with offerings like Microsoft Fabric). —Jason Andersen, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

Lindor laid down a textbook bunt down for a single, and Soto hit a cutter to the left-center warning track with one on and none out. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2025

With runners on second and third, Pete Crow-Armstrong laid down a bunt on a safety squeeze and got his second out by throwing home, where Díaz tagged out Swanson. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025

The tommy-gun-toting attacker lays down cover fire while another dozen or so men charge the house. —Matt Cabral, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for lay down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Video

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

Kids Definition

lay down

verb

1

: establish sense 1, prescribe

lay down standards

2

: to state or declare forcefully

lay down the law