[lay bare]{v. phr.} To expose; reveal; divulge. •/During his testimony the witness laid bare the whole story of his involvement with the accused./

[lay by]{v.} To save, especially a little at a time. •/The students laid a little money by every week till they had enough for a trip to Florida./ •/The farmer laid by some of his best corn to use the next year for seed./

[lay down]{v.} 1. To let (something) be taken; give up or surrender (something). •/The general told the troops to lay down their arms./ •/He was willing to lay down his life for his country./ Compare: GIVE UP. 2. To ask people to follow; tell someone to obey; make (a rule or principle). •/The committee laid down rules about the size of tennis courts./ 3. To declare; say positively; say surely; state. •/She laid it down as always true that "a fool and his money are soon parted."/ 4. To store or save for future use, especially in a cellar. •/They laid down several barrels of cider./

[lay down one’s arms]{v. phr.} To cease fighting; surrender. •/The Civil War ended when the Confederate army finally laid down its arms./

[lay down one’s cards] See: LAY ONE’S CARDS ON THE TABLE.

[lay down one’s life]{v. phr.} To sacrifice one’s life for a cause or person; suffer martyrdom. •/The early Christians often laid down their lives for their faith./

[lay down the law]{v. phr.} 1. To give strict orders. •/The teacher lays down the law about homework every afternoon./ 2. To speak severely or seriously about a wrongdoing; scold. •/The principal called in the students and laid down the law to them about skipping classes./ Compare: TELL ONE WHERE TO GET OFF.

[lay eyes on] or [set eyes on] {v. phr.} To see. •/She knew he was different as soon as she laid eyes on him./ •/I didn’t know the man; in fact, I had never set eyes on him./

[lay for]{v.}, {informal} To hide and wait for in order to catch or attack; to lie in wait for. •/The bandits laid for him along the road./ •/I knew he had the marks for the exam, so I was laying for him outside his office./

[lay hands on]{v. phr.} 1. To get hold of; find; catch. •/The treasure hunters can keep any treasure they can lay hands on./ •/If the police can lay hands on him, they will put him in jail./ Compare: LAY ONE’S HAND ON(2). 2. To do violence to; harm; hurt. •/They were afraid that if they left him alone in his disturbed condition he would lay hands on himself./

[lay hold of]{v. phr.} 1. To take hold of; grasp; grab. •/He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore./ 2. To get possession of. •/He sold every washing machine he could lay hold of./ 3. {Chiefly British} To understand. •/Some ideas in this science book are hard to lay hold of./

[lay in]{v.} To store up a supply of; to get and keep for future use. •/Mrs. Mason heard that the price of sugar might go up, so she laid in a hundred pounds of it./ •/Before school starts, the principal will lay in plenty of paper for the students' written work./ Compare: LAY UP.

[lay into] or [light into] {v.}, {informal} 1. To attack physically; go at vigorously. •/The two fighters laid into each other as soon as the bell rang./ •/John loves Italian food and he really laid into the spaghetti./ Syn.: PITCH INTO, SAIL INTO. 2. {slang} To attack with words. •/The senator laid into the opponents of his bill./ Syn.: LACE INTO, RIP INTO. Compare: BAWL OUT, TELL OFF.

[lay it on] or [lay it on thick] also [put it on thick] or [spread it on thick] or [lay it on with a trowel] {v. phr.}, {informal} To persuade someone by using very much flattery; flatter. •/Bob wanted to go to the movies. He laid it on thick to his mother./ •/Mary was caught fibbing. She sure spread it on thick./ Compare: PUT ON(2b).

[lay it on the line] See: LAY ON THE LINE(2).

[lay low]{v.} 1. To knock down; to force into a lying position; to put out of action. •/Many trees were laid low by the storm./ •/Jane was laid low by the flu./ 2. To kill. •/The hunters laid low seven pheasants./ 3. See: LIE LOW.

[layoff]{n.} A systematic or periodical dismissal of employees from a factory or a firm. •/Due to the poor economy, the car manufacturer announced a major layoff starting next month./

[lay off]{v. phr.} 1. To mark out the boundaries or limits. •/He laid off a baseball diamond on the vacant lot./ Compare: LAY OUT(5). 2. To put out of work. •/The company lost the contract for making the shoes and laid off half its workers./ 3. {slang} To stop bothering; leave alone. — Usually used in the imperative. •/Lay off me, will you? I have to study for a test./ 4. {slang} To stop using or taking. •/His doctor told him to lay off cigarettes./

[lay of the land] also [how the land lies] {n. phr.} 1. The natural features of a piece of land, such as hills and valleys. •/The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land./ 2. The way something is arranged; the important facts about something; how things are. •/The banker wanted to check the lay of the land before buying the stock./ •/Before the new boy will join our club, he wants to see how the land lies./

[lay on]{v.} 1. To spread on or over a surface; apply. •/He told us that we should lay on a second coat of paint for better protection against the weather./ 2. To beat; to strike. •/Little John seized a staff and began to lay on with great energy./ 3. See: LAY IT ON.

[lay one’s cards on the table] or [lay down one’s cards] or [put one’s cards on the table] {v. phr.}, {informal} To let someone know your position and interest openly; deal honestly; act without trickery or secrets. •/In talking about buying the property, Peterson laid his cards on the table about his plans for it./ •/Some of the graduates of the school were unfriendly toward the new superintendent, but he put his cards on the table and won their support./

[lay oneself open to]{v. phr.} To make oneself vulnerable to; expose oneself. •/If you don’t perform your job properly, you will lay yourself open to criticism./

[lay oneself out]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make an extra hard effort; try very hard. •/Larry wanted to win a medal for his school, so he really laid himself out in the race./

[lay one’s finger on] See: PUT ONE’S FINGER ON.

[lay one’s hands on] or [get one’s hands on] {v. phr.} 1. To seize in order to punish or treat roughly. •/If I ever lay my hands on that boy he’ll be sorry./ Compare: LAY A FINGER ON. 2. To get possession of. •/He was unable to lay his hands on a Model T Ford for the school play./ Compare: LAY HANDS ON(1). 3. or [lay one’s hand on] or [put one’s hand on] To find; locate. •/He keeps a file of letters so he can lay his hands on one whenever he needs it./

[lay on the line] or [put on the line] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To pay or offer to pay. •/The sponsors had to lay nearly a million dollars on the line to keep the show on TV./ •/The bank is putting $5,000 on the line as a reward to anyone who catches the robber./ Compare: PUT UP. 2. To say plainly so that there can be no doubt; tell truthfully, •/I’m going to lay it on the line for you, Paul. You must work harder if you want to pass./ 3. To take a chance of losing; risk. •/The champion is laying his title on the line in the fight tonight./ •/Frank decided to lay his job on the line and tell the boss that he thought he was wrong./