What does "lay down" mean?

To give up, surrender, or yield (e.g. a weapon), usually by placing it on the ground.

What is a synonym for "lay down"?

Common synonyms include: abdicate, abjure, accumulate, acknowledge defeat, advance, affirm.

verb

verb ·Common ·High school level

Verb

1
To give up, surrender, or yield (e.g. a weapon), usually by placing it on the ground. transitive
"The police urged the gunman to lay down his weapon."
2
simple past of lie down form-of, past
"He lay down in his bed until he felt better."
3
institute, enact, or establish wordnet
4
To place on the ground, e.g. a railway on a trackbed.
"Two standard types of flat-bottom track were introduced as early as 1949, and some 1,570 miles had been laid down to the end of 1950."
5
To intentionally take a fall while riding a motorcycle, in order to prevent a more serious collision. transitive
"He laid down his brand-new Harley-Davidson to avoid the oncoming bus."

Show 8 more definitions

6
To specify, institute, enact, assert firmly, state authoritatively, establish or formulate (rules or policies). transitive
"Let's lay down the rules right at the beginning, so we are consistent."
7
To stock, store (e.g. wine) for the future. See also lay by.
8
To kill (someone). dated, transitive
9
To euthanize an animal. euphemistic, transitive
10
To sacrifice, especially in the phrase "to lay down one's life."
11
To lie down. intransitive, proscribed
"I feel a bit ill, so I'm going to go lay down for a while."
12
To draw the lines of a ship's hull at full size, before starting a build. dated
13
To place a sheet in a printing press for printing. obsolete

"The police urged the gunman to lay down his weapon."

From Middle English leyen doun, leien doun (“to lay down”), equivalent to lay + down.