verb · B2

Lay

LAY/leɪ/

To lay is to put something down carefully, to prepare (lay the table), or to dismiss staff (lay off). Past: laid. Lie is to recline or to not tell the truth (already elsewhere) — you lie down; you lay a book down. Lay the argument’s foundations in paragraph one. Mix-up: lie / lied. Do not write “she lay the book” in the present.

Meaning

To put something down carefully; also to prepare (lay the table) or dismiss staff (lay off). Past: laid.

Examples

“Lay the foundations of the argument in paragraph one, not in the conclusion.”
“The trust will lay off cover supervisors in July, which is the jobs sense.”

Good to know

lay + object (+ down); lay the table / foundations; lay off. Past: laid. Trap: lie / lied. Essays, DT, and news. Put down, not recline.

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