lie down

verb

lay down; lain down; lying down; lies down

intransitive verb

1

: to submit meekly or abjectly to defeat, disappointment, or insult

—used chiefly in the phrase take (something) lying down

… if Walker does get the go-ahead to implement his anti-union law, the teachers in Madison aren't going to take it lying down, Matthew says. They may walk out on the job again.

—Matthew Rothschild

2

: to fail to perform or to neglect one's part deliberately

—used chiefly in the phrase lie down on the job

While the Sanitation Department was accused of lying down on the job, the police were accused of harassment …

—Walter Thabit

see also lie entry 1 sense 1b

Examples of lie down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the picture, Spelling can be seen lying down on a bed in the nude with a pink blanket covering her lower half. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 12 Feb. 2025

Yet the resistance to Trump’s first term clearly demonstrated that lying down on the tracks was not in itself a suitable plan for winning elections and enacting large-scale social and political change. —Brady Brickner-Wood, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2025

And Canada, like any country, isn't taking new tariffs lying down. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025

Avoid eating late at night or just before lying down in bed. —Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, Rdn, Ld, Health, 2 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Video

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.