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

David Yates’ impressive run on the series wouldn’t have been possible without the groundwork Cuarón laid down and there’s good reason why PoA is now considered one of the series’ best films. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Nov. 2024

Mark Coote / Bloomberg via Getty Images First signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Indigenous Maori chiefs, the Treaty lays down how the two parties agreed to govern. —Reuters, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2024

At the time, George Harrison laid down some guitar parts for possible inclusion on the Beatles Anthology box sets, but the song was abandoned because the original quality of Lennon’s demo was too poor. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024

Last week, someone taped a picture of a hammer onto McManus’ chamber door in jest as a final reminder to the judge, who is laying down his gavel after 27 years on the bench. —Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 7 Nov. 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