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

His great-grandfather, George Blaney, laid down the foundations, while his grandfather Lou claimed over 600 race victories. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025

Hamas said that Israel had laid down further conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on understandings already reached. —Reuters, NBC News, 25 Dec. 2024

At the time, George Harrison laid down some guitar parts for possible inclusion on the Beatles Anthology box sets, but the quality of the original demo was so poor, the group decided to abandon the song. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024

There were more wow moments for visitors Saturday, including the Funk Brothers’ raw instrumental track and the sun-streaked strings break laid down by 17 members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. —Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 21 Dec. 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