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What does "lay" mean?

See in a sentence

In addition to the idioms beginning with lay, also see let it lay. Also see under laid up; lie; put.

See lay in WNW Idioms

lay about one

to deliver blows on all sides; strike out in every direction

lay a course

Naut. to proceed in a certain direction without the need for tacking
to make plans to do something

lay aside

to put to one side; lay out of the way
to save; lay away

lay away

to set aside for future use; save
â to set (merchandise) aside for future delivery
â to bury: usually in the passive

lay by

to save; lay away
Dialectal
1. â to cultivate (a crop) for the last time
2. to harvest and store (a crop or crops)

lay down

to sacrifice or give up (one's life)
to assert or declare emphatically
to bet; wager
to store away, as wine in a cellar

lay for

Informal to be waiting to attack

lay in

to get and store away

lay into

Slang

to attack and hit repeatedly; beat
to attack with words; scold

lay it on (thick)

Informal

to exaggerate
to express praise effusively

lay off

to put (a garment, etc.) aside
â to put (an employee) out of work, esp. temporarily
to mark off the boundaries of
â Slang
1. to cease
2. to stop criticizing, teasing, etc.
3. to stop for a rest
Slang to transfer part of (a bet) to another bookmaker so as to minimize risk: said of a bookmaker

lay on

to spread on
to attack with force; strike repeatedly

lay oneself open

to expose oneself to attack, blame, etc.

lay open

to open up; cut open
to expose; uncover

lay out

to spend
to arrange according to a plan
to spread out (clothes, equipment, etc.) ready for wear, inspection, etc.
to make (a corpse) ready for burial and for viewing, as at a wake
Slang to knock down or make unconscious
Slang to scold or censure (someone)

lay over

â to stop a while in a place before going on

lay something on someone

Slang

to tell something to someone
to give something to someone

lay to

to attribute to; credit to or blame on
to apply oneself with vigor
Naut.
1. to check a ship's forward motion, esp. by bringing the bow into the wind
2. to lie more or less stationary with the bow to the wind: now usually lie to

lay to rest

to bury; inter

lay up

to store for future use; hoard
to disable; confine to bed or the sickroom laid up with the flu
to take (a ship) out of operation, as by putting into a dry dock for repairs

See lay in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Idioms

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What does "lay" mean?

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