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

Emergency crews arrived at the scene to find the injured man lying down in the middle of the field, not trapped. —David Chiu, People.com, 23 May 2025

Thigh stretch while lying down Lie on your stomach, bend your right knee, and grasp your ankle with your hand. —Claudia Herwig, Glamour, 20 May 2025

To stabilize the soil and suppress weeds, lay down natural jute or coconut coir fabric on the slope. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 17 May 2025

After a blowout loss in the playoffs, bad teams lie down and take their punishment, good teams hold their own evenly and great teams respond with a vengeance. —Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 16 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lie down

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

Video

Lay vs. Lie

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.