1. To take hold of; grasp; grab. •/He laidhold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore./ 2. To get possession of. •/Hesold every washing machine he could lay hold of./ 3. {Chiefly British} Tounderstand. •/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 ahundred pounds of it./ •/Before school starts, the principal will lay inplenty of paper for the students' written work./ Compare: LAY UP.
[lay into] or [light into]{v.}, {informal} 1. To attackphysically; go at vigorously. •/The two fighters laid into each other as soonas the bell rang./ •/John loves Italian food and he really laid into thespaghetti./ Syn.: PITCH INTO, SAIL INTO. 2. {slang} To attack with words.•/The senator laid into the opponents of his bill./ Syn.: LACE INTO, RIPINTO. 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: PUTON(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 putout of action. •/Many trees were laid low by the storm./ •/Jane was laidlow 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 afactory or a firm. •/Due to the poor economy, the car manufacturer announceda major layoff starting next month./
[lay off]{v. phr.} 1. To mark out the boundaries or limits. •/Helaid off a baseball diamond on the vacant lot./ Compare: LAY OUT(5). 2. Toput out of work. •/The company lost the contract for making the shoes andlaid 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 atest./ 4. {slang} To stop using or taking. •/His doctor told him to layoff cigarettes./
[lay of the land] also [how the land lies]{n. phr.} 1. The naturalfeatures of a piece of land, such as hills and valleys. •/The style of housethe contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land./ 2. The waysomething 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 landlies./
[lay on]{v.} 1. To spread on or over a surface; apply. •/He told usthat we should lay on a second coat of paint for better protection against theweather./ 2. To beat; to strike. •/Little John seized a staff and began tolay on with great energy./ 3. See: LAY IT ON.
[lay one’s cards on the table] or [lay down one’s cards] or [putone’s cards on the table]{v. phr.}, {informal} To let someone knowyour position and interest openly; deal honestly; act without trickery orsecrets. •/In talking about buying the property, Peterson laid his cards onthe table about his plans for it./ •/Some of the graduates of the schoolwere unfriendly toward the new superintendent, but he put his cards on thetable and won their support./
[lay oneself open to]{v. phr.} To make oneself vulnerable to; exposeoneself. •/If you don’t perform your job properly, you will lay yourself opento criticism./
[lay oneself out]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make an extra hardeffort; try very hard. •/Larry wanted to win a medal for his school, so hereally 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 seizein order to punish or treat roughly. •/If I ever lay my hands on that boyhe’ll be sorry./ Compare: LAY A FINGER ON. 2. To get possession of. •/Hewas 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] Tofind; locate. •/He keeps a file of letters so he can lay his hands on onewhenever 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 onthe line to keep the show on TV./ •/The bank is putting $5,000 on the lineas a reward to anyone who catches the robber./ Compare: PUT UP. 2. To sayplainly so that there can be no doubt; tell truthfully, •/I’m going to lay iton the line for you, Paul. You must work harder if you want to pass./ 3. Totake a chance of losing; risk. •/The champion is laying his title on the linein the fight tonight./ •/Frank decided to lay his job on the line and tellthe boss that he thought he was wrong./
[lay out]{v. phr.} 1. To prepare (a dead body) for burial. •/Thecorpse was laid out by the undertaker./ 2. {slang} To knock down flat; tohit unconscious. •/A stiff right to the jaw laid the boxer out in the secondround./ 3. To plan. •/Come here, Fred, I have a job laid out for you./ 4.To mark or show where work is to be done. •/The foreman laid out the job forthe new machinist./ 5. To plan the building or arrangement of; design.•/The architect laid out the interior of the building./ •/The earlycolonists laid out towns in the wilderness./ Compare: LAY OFF(1). 6.{slang} To spend; pay. •/How much did you have to lay out for your newcar?/ 7. or [lay out in lavender]{slang} To scold; lecture. •/Hewas laid out in lavender for arriving an hour late for the dance./ Compare:JUMP ON, LAY INTO(2), LET HAVE IT(1c).
[layout]{n.} General situation; arrangement; plan. •/The layout oftheir apartment overlooking Lake Michigan was strikingly unusual./ Compare:LAID OUT.
[layover]{n.} A stopover, usually at an airport or in a hotel due tointerrupted air travel. •/There were several layovers at O’Hare last monthdue to bad weather./
[lay over]{v.} 1. To put off until later; delay; postpone. •/Wevoted to lay the question over to our next meeting for decision./ 2. Toarrive in one place and wait some time before continuing the journey. •/Wehad to lay over in St. Louis for two hours waiting for a plane to Seattle./
[lay rubber] or [lay a patch]{v. phr.}, {slang} To take off ina car or a motorcycle so fast that the tires (made of rubber) leave a mark onthe pavement. •/Look at those crazy drag racers; they laid rubber in front ofmy house./
[lay the blame at one’s door]{v. phr.} To say that another person orgroup is responsible for one’s own failure. •/The angry coach laid the blameat the door of the players when our college lost the basketball game./
[lay the fault at one’s door] See: LAY THE BLAME AT ONE’S DOOR.
[lay their heads together] See: PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER.
[lay to]{v.} 1. To give the blame or credit to; to name as cause.•/He was unpopular and when he made money, it was laid to his dishonesty, butwhen he lost money, it was laid to his stupidity./ Compare: LAY AT ONE’SDOOR. 2. To hold a ship or boat still against the wind. •/The pirates decidedto lay to that night and go ashore in the morning./ Compare: LIE TO. 3. Toexert oneself; to work hard. •/He picked up a shovel and laid to with therest of the gang./
[lay to heart] See: TAKE TO HEART.
[lay to rest]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To put a dead person into agrave or tomb; bury. •/President Kennedy was laid to rest in ArlingtonNational Cemetery./ 2. To get rid of; put away permanently; stop. •/TheScoutmaster’s fears that Tom had drowned were laid to rest when Tom came backand said he had gone for a boat ride./ •/The rumor that the principal hadaccepted another job was laid to rest when he said it wasn’t true./
[lay up]{v.} 1. To collect a supply of; save for future, use; store.•/Bees lay up honey for the winter./ 2. To keep in the house or in bedbecause of sickness or injury; disable. •/Jack was laid up with a twistedknee and couldn’t play in the final game./ 3. To take out of active service;put in a boat dock or a garage. •/Bill had to lay up his boat when schoolstarted./ •/If you lay up a car for the winter, you should take out thebattery./
[lay waste]{v. phr.}, {literary} To cause wide and great damageto; destroy and leave in ruins; wreck. •/Enemy soldiers laid waste theland./
[lead] See: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME, BLIND LEADING THE BLIND.
[lead] See: GET THE LEAD OUT OF ONE’S PANTS.
[lead a dog’s life]{v. phr.}, {informal} To live a hard life, workhard, and be treated unkindly. •/A new college student of long ago led adog’s life./
[lead a merry chase]{v. phr.} To delay or escape capture by (someone)skillfully; make (a pursuer) work hard. •/The deer led the hunter a merrychase./ •/Valerie is leading her boyfriend a merry chase./
[lead by the nose]{v. phr.},