1
as in enacting
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in declaring
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in specifying
to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly
the supervisor laid down the procedure for a complaint of sexual harassment
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in relinquishing
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress
commanded the surrounded troops to lay down their weapons
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laying down
Verb
-
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts states from enacting laws that conflict with ERISA on regulated benefit plans.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
16 Sep. 2025 -
Treasury yields edged lower Monday, extending recent declines, after the Empire State Manufacturing Index came in far below what Wall Street economists had expected and traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve enacting an interest rate cut later this week.—
Pia Singh,Ganesh Rao,
CNBC,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Cook signed mortgage agreements declaring that houses in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta were each her principal residences, according to prior reports.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Private Debt Investors That urgency stands in sharp contrast to headlines declaring that AI is overhyped.—
Don Muir,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Despite specifying various antics with pills, a belt-as-noose, and a gun, Cloud has given him no real demons to explore.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
-
IEPs set out guidelines for the special education the school will provide the child, specifying the specific accommodations, type of instruction, and behavioral plans that will be used to support the student.—
IndyStar,
IndyStar,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Few believe Kim would countenance relinquishing his nuclear deterrence, given the fates of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, both toppled after abandoning their weapons programs.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The cost of obtaining them will very quickly amount to billions of dollars, which could force Musk to pay by relinquishing shares.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This has become the norm, with the club’s outstanding start appearing more like the aberration with each passing day.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Granite Hills had just 59 yards passing at the break with 21 of those coming on the last play of the half.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Johnn Macdougall/Getty Images German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has dismissed claims that Russian drones entered Polish airspace by accident, asserting in a Bundestag address that the flight paths were intentional and part of a broader pattern of provocation.—
Amanda Castro
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Just as Lachlan is entrenched at Fox, at Paramount another scion, David Ellison, is asserting himself, preparing for what will likely be a decades-long run atop a legendary studio and the owner of CBS.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Taken together, these signals show that resilience is not a marginal concern but a defining lens for value creation.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The West may think of his nation in terms of space-age technology and zeitgeist-defining cultural phenomena like KPop Demon Hunters, though in truth South Korea battles the lowest birth rate, top suicide rate, and highest youth unemployment of any developed nation.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This is less computationally intensive than actually rendering all three of those frames; it can be combined with MetalFX's existing temporal upscaling, boosting performance even further.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025
-
But the speed came from all three levels of Green Bay’s defense, rendering Washington’s offense almost inoperative.—
Nicki Jhabvala,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Laying down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laying%20down. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share