lay down
English
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
lay down¹
Where it comes from
From Middle English leyen doun, leien doun (“to lay down”), equivalent to lay + down.
verb lays down · laying down · laid down
- To give up, surrender, or yield (e.g. a weapon), usually by placing it on the ground. The police urged the gunman to lay down his weapon.
- To place or install on the ground, e.g. a railway on a trackbed. lay down a mat; lay down asphalt; lay down a road
- To intentionally take a fall while riding a motorcycle, in order to prevent a more serious collision. He laid down his brand-new Harley-Davidson to avoid the oncoming bus.
- To specify, institute, enact, assert firmly, state authoritatively, establish or formulate (rules or policies). Let's lay down the rules right at the beginning, so we are consistent.
- To stock, store (e.g. wine) for the future. See also lay by.
- To kill (someone).
- To euthanize an animal.
- To sacrifice, especially in the phrase "to lay down one's life."
- To lie down. I feel a bit ill, so I'm going to go lay down for a while.
- To draw the lines of a ship's hull at full size, before starting a build. So Ut-napishtim obeyed the god Ea and gathered together the wood and all things needful for the building of the ship, and on the fifth day he laid down the hull. In the shape of a barge he built it, and on it he set a house […]
- To place a sheet in a printing press for printing.
lay down²
verb
- simple past of lie down He lay down in his bed until he felt better.
Translations
Every language
verb to surrender or yield (a weapon) by placing it on the ground
| Español | soltar |
|---|---|
| Português | desistir, recuar |
| Русский | сдава́ться sdavátʹsja |
verb to specify or establish (rules)
| Español | poner, establecer |
|---|---|
| Português | delinear |
verb to lie down for rest
| Español | acostarse |
|---|---|
| Português | deitar |
| Français | se coucher |
Talk about this word "lay down." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lay%20down. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lay down. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lay%20down "lay down." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lay%20down.Cite this
@misc{lay_down_2026,
title = {lay down},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lay%20down},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
