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 enormous rock group was likely laid down between 662 to 720 million years ago, just before a big boom in life. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Aug. 2024

The car then begins to drive as the man, still laying down, continues to yell and groan in the back seat. —Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2024

Eventually Sergei laid down his gun, removed his grenades and magazines of bullets, and stood up with hands raised. —Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2024

Jason lays down the law and makes Drew contribute his wad of krona to a team excursion. —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 12 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

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

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