ALL meanings of lay into
lay in·to
L l - idioms lay into lay low. low1 (defs 50, 51). 1
- idioms lay into lay oneself out, Informal. to try one's best; make a great effort: They laid themselves out to see that the reception would be a success. 1
- idioms lay into lay siege to. siege (def 9). 1
- noun lay into Lay1 and lie2 are often confused. Lay is most commonly a transitive verb and takes an object. Its forms are regular. If “place” or “put” can be substituted in a sentence, a form of lay is called for: Lay the folders on the desk. The mason is laying brick. She laid the baby in the crib. Lay also has many intransitive senses, among them “to lay eggs” (The hens have stopped laying), and it forms many phrasal verbs, such as lay off “to dismiss (from employment)” or “to stop annoying or teasing” and lay over “to make a stop.” Lie, with the overall senses “to be in a horizontal position, recline” and “to rest, remain, be situated, etc.,” is intransitive and takes no object. Its forms are irregular; its past tense form is identical with the present tense or infinitive form of lay: Lie down, children. Abandoned cars were lying along the road. The dog lay in the shade and watched the kittens play. The folders have lain on the desk since yesterday. In all but the most careful, formal speech, forms of lay are commonly heard in senses normally associated with lie. In edited written English such uses of lay are rare and are usually considered nonstandard: Lay down, children. The dog laid in the shade. Abandoned cars were laying along the road. The folders have laid on the desk since yesterday. 1
- verb lay into (Colloquial) To beat up. 0
- verb lay into (Colloquial) To berate; to scold. 0
- phrasal verb lay into To lay into someone or something means to start attacking or criticizing them. 0
- verb lay into to attack forcefully 0
- verb lay into to berate severely 0
- noun lay into to attack and hit repeatedly; beat 0
- noun lay into to attack with words; scold 0