1
as in to enact
to put into effect through legislative or authoritative action
the city council promises to lay down new ordinances that will force dog walkers to clean up after their animals
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2
as in to declare
to state clearly and strongly
at the risk of their popularity, the parents laid down the rules for the party and wouldn't accept any arguments
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3
as in to specify
to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly
the supervisor laid down the procedure for a complaint of sexual harassment
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4
as in to relinquish
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress
commanded the surrounded troops to lay down their weapons
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of lay down
Hezbollah was obliged to drop its insistence on a ceasefire in Gaza in return for laying down its arms.
—
Dina Kraft, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Nov. 2024
Just lay down, put your hip down there and lay in a circle.
—Outside Online, 21 Nov. 2024
There are a variety of scissoring positions that work best for different people: the classic facing away from each other and crossing legs (like a pair of scissors), one person straddling their partner while the other person lays down, sitting in each other's laps with your legs crossed, and so on.
—Adejoke Mason, Them, 3 Dec. 2024
Speaking to Eurogamer, many CDPR developers and executives have started laying down the strategy behind the upcoming game's development.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lay down 
Dina Kraft, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Nov. 2024
Just lay down, put your hip down there and lay in a circle.
—Outside Online, 21 Nov. 2024
There are a variety of scissoring positions that work best for different people: the classic facing away from each other and crossing legs (like a pair of scissors), one person straddling their partner while the other person lays down, sitting in each other's laps with your legs crossed, and so on.
—Adejoke Mason, Them, 3 Dec. 2024
Speaking to Eurogamer, many CDPR developers and executives have started laying down the strategy behind the upcoming game's development.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lay down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay down
Verb
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Though states and municipalities are generally preempted from enacting their own limits, Congress allowed the EPA to waive the preemption rule to allow California to set certain regulations that are stricter than federal standards.Andrew Chung, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2024
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The school responded by enacting a dress code that resulted in many of those students being sent to detention.Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 12 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Which really is the state question, it was legally declared so in 1996.Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
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Then the City Section declared seven players ineligible right before the playoffs began and made the Gauchos ineligible for next year’s playoffs.Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The agency did not specify exactly where the sightings along the 70-mile river were.Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
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The post did not specify how officers determined the animal should be euthanized or the method used.Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Wellington Mara relinquished control of football operations when Young took over.Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 9 Dec. 2024
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The institution must relinquish its Association voting privileges for a four-year period.Marley Malenfant, Austin American-Statesman, 6 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Army intercepted six Navy passes but missed three early field goal attempts.Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 13 Dec. 2024
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Another remarked how every warm-up drill or passing exercise had a purpose and was all connected to the bigger picture.Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The State Department has carved out loopholes for Israel that give the close American ally a pass on U.S. law restricting aid to foreign militaries over human rights abuses, a lawsuit from a group of Palestinians in Gaza and American relatives asserted Tuesday.Ellen Knickmeyer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
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That led associate Jeff Oh Kern to assert himself as the presumptive beneficiary, though he is not legally considered the owner of the property.Andrew King, Axios, 17 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Starting as a plugin for the collaborative interface design tool Figma, the tool allowed users to define and apply design tokens (like border radii, spacers, colors, and typography styles) consistently throughout projects.William Mullane, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024
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With about one-fifth of the country occupied by Russian forces, defining NATO's mutual defense obligations presents a challenge.Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
Verb
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But Part Two told the story of Paul Atreides’s rise to power with a satisfying mix of triumph and gruesomeness, rendering his planetary jihad in awe-inspiring fashion.David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2024
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But, footage of piles of dead cows awaiting pickup by rendering trucks on California roadways has inspired further questioning.Crystal Heath and Gene Baur, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Lay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20down. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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