1. Home
2. Idioms
3. lay in

lay in

---

---

lay someone or something in(to) something

to place someone or something in something. The women laid the king into the coffin and the funeral procession assembled. The cook laid the salmon in the poaching liquid.

See also: lay

lay something in

to get something and store it for future use. They laid a lot of food in for the holidays. We always lay in a large supply of firewood each November.

See also: lay

lay in

Also, lay up. Stock or store for future use, as in We laid in supplies for the winter, or Are you sure you've laid up enough material? The first term dates from the late 1500s, the second from about 1400. Also see lay aside, def. 2; lay down, def. 4.

See also: lay

lay in

v.

1. To place something and embed it in a surface: The roofer laid the new shingles in yesterday. We should lay in the tiles before cleaning them.

2. To store something for future use: The northern explorers had to lay in supplies for the Arctic winter. We harvested a lot of potatoes and laid them in for the long winter ahead.

See also: lay