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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lay down
The Army plans to lay down huge metal plates at least an inch thick over spots in the parade route where the tanks will turn.
—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 22 May 2025
But, the true commercial value is likely to lay down the line, as the club taps into another significant English-speaking market by building a support base.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 May 2025
In the meantime, his attempts to lay down in the water have left internet users in stitches, leading to more than 460 comments on the viral TikTok post already.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
That’s why, a few weeks ago, Matton was out on a job site, digging up a 500-yard driveway and laying down new stone.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay down
Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 22 May 2025
But, the true commercial value is likely to lay down the line, as the club taps into another significant English-speaking market by building a support base.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 May 2025
In the meantime, his attempts to lay down in the water have left internet users in stitches, leading to more than 460 comments on the viral TikTok post already.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
That’s why, a few weeks ago, Matton was out on a job site, digging up a 500-yard driveway and laying down new stone.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lay down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay down
Verb
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At a moment when many working people feel ignored by both major political parties, this is a unique and meaningful opportunity for Gov. Ned Lamont to demonstrate his commitment to working class voters by enacting policies that protect them and their jobs.—
Ed Hawthorne,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
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More than a half dozen states have enacted laws placing restrictions on diversity efforts at state institutions such as colleges and universities.—
Ken Alltucker,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
Verb
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The memo declared the DOJ would defer to federal agencies to set rules — and only enforce those rules once defined.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
24 May 2025
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Korda has declared that, because his nine sons are, frankly, nincompoops and rapscallions, Liesl will be the sole heir to his fortune.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 May 2025
Verb
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The report also specifies that North America travelers increased 11 percent over the time period.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
26 May 2025
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Though the park did not specify what year the church was developed, scholars generally say that Late Antiquity occurred between the third and sixth centuries.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2025
Verb
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Despite bipartisan and nearly unequivocal support for Gypsum Canyon in the intervening four years, Agran has refused to relinquish his goal of completing a veterans cemetery in Irvine.—
Jonathan Horwitz,
Oc Register,
28 May 2025
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Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the subjects’ descendants.—
Leah Willingham,
Christian Science Monitor,
28 May 2025
Verb
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The bipartisan bill had sailed through the Senate and passed the House by a vote of 409–2.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
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By 2006, when Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act, a law designed to criminalize online gambling in all of its various forms, from poker to sports betting, the NFL had completely abandoned its objections to fantasy.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
24 May 2025
Verb
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The Cubs assert the team holds an undisputed property right to Cubs games and there is no public right to watch a Cubs game in person or by broadcast.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
27 May 2025
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The plaintiffs also assert that Mr. Trump did not have the authority to stop federal funding for NPR and PBS, and his order should be invalidated as unconstitutional.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
27 May 2025
Verb
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More impressive millwork defines the passageways to the formal dining and living rooms.—
James Alexander,
Hartford Courant,
1 June 2025
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This was bricolage in the mode of postmodernism, to use a term that Jencks had a leading role in propagating, defining it in multiple competing and overlapping (some would say maddening) ways.—
Glenn Adamson,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
Verb
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From Feed Hygiene to Discovery Advantage Unlike traditional search ads that appear alongside blue links, AI search ads will be rendered inside conversational answers themselves.—
Kiri Masters,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
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In fact, without the ocean as a natural buffer, climate change would have already rendered our planet uninhabitable.—
Jenna DiPaolo,
Sun Sentinel,
1 June 2025
Video
Lay vs. Lie
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Cite this Entry
“Lay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20down. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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