The word ‘lay‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to place something down gently.
For example:
- He laid the puppy into his basket. (place gently)
Lay is an irregular verb. The past tense is laid and the past participle is laid.
phrasal verbs with lay
Phrasal verbs with ‘lay’ include:
- lay down
meaning – establish rules or place something onto a surface
example – The Police are laying down the law to my son. He was caught graffitiing the town hall. - lay into
meaning – fiercely shout at or beat someone
example – The shop keeper caught the thief stealing and laid into him with a baseball bat. - lay off
meaning – make someone redundant or stop doing something annoying/bad
example – It’s about time you laid off George. You’re bullying him. - lay on
meaning – provide something
example – The council are laying on extra trains during December. - lay out
meaning – arrange/display something or knock someone unconscious
example – The catering staff laid out all of the table decorations ready for the wedding.
picture phrasal verbs with lay
Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘lay’ in more detail and see some examples in use.
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