Found 1 items, similar to To lay waste.
English → English (gcide) Definition: To lay waste Lay \Lay\ (l[=a]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laid (l[=a]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Laying.] [OE. leggen, AS. lecgan, causative, fr. licgan to lie; akin to D. leggen, G. legen, Icel. leggja, Goth. lagjan. See Lie to be prostrate.] 1. To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust. [1913 Webster] A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den. --Dan. vi. 17. [1913 Webster] Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table. [1913 Webster] 3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan. [1913 Webster] 4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint. [1913 Webster] 5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit. [1913 Webster] After a tempest when the winds are laid. --Waller. [1913 Webster] 6. To cause to lie dead or dying. [1913 Webster] Brave C[ae]neus laid Ortygius on the plain, The victor C[ae]neus was by Turnus slain. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk. [1913 Webster] I dare lay mine honor He will remain so. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs. [1913 Webster] 9. To apply; to put. [1913 Webster] She layeth her hands to the spindle. --Prov. xxxi. 19. [1913 Webster] 10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land. [1913 Webster] The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. --Is. liii. 6. [1913 Webster] 11. To impute; to charge; to allege. [1913 Webster] God layeth not folly to them. --Job xxiv. 12. [1913 Webster] Lay the fault on us. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one. [1913 Webster] 13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one. [1913 Webster] 14. (Law) To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue. --Bouvier. [1913 Webster] 15. (Mil.) To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun. [1913 Webster] 16. (Rope Making) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope. [1913 Webster] 17. (Print.) (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases. [1913 Webster] To lay asleep, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. --Bacon. To lay bare, to make bare; to strip. [1913 Webster] And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain. --Byron. To lay before, to present to; to submit for consideration; as, the papers are laid before Congress. To lay by. (a) To save. (b) To discard. [1913 Webster] Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by. --Bacon. To lay by the heels, to put in the stocks. --Shak. To lay down. (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms. (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle. To lay forth. (a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self; to expatiate. [Obs.] (b) To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] --Shak. To lay hands on, to seize. To lay hands on one's self, or To lay violent hands on one's self , to injure one's self; specif., to commit suicide. To lay heads together, to consult. To lay hold of, or To lay hold on, to seize; to catch. To lay in, to store; to provide. To lay it on, to apply without stint. --Shak. To lay it on thick, to flatter excessively. To lay on, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows. To lay on load, to lay on blows; to strike violently. [Obs. or Archaic] To lay one's self out, to strive earnestly. [1913 Webster] No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country. --Smalridge. [1913 Webster] To lay one's self open to, to expose one's self to, as to an accusation. To lay open, to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal. To lay over, to spread over; to cover. To lay out. (a) To expend. --Macaulay. (b) To display; to discover. (c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a garden. (d) To prepare for burial; as, to lay out a corpse. (e) To exert; as, to lay out all one's strength. To lay siege to. (a) To besiege; to encompass with an army. (b) To beset pertinaciously. To lay the course (Naut.), to sail toward the port intended without jibing. To lay the land (Naut.), to cause it to disappear below the horizon, by sailing away from it. To lay to (a) To charge upon; to impute. (b) To apply with vigor. (c) To attack or harass. [Obs.] --Knolles. (d) (Naut.) To check the motion of (a vessel) and cause it to be stationary. To lay to heart, to feel deeply; to consider earnestly. To lay under, to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or restraint. To lay unto. (a) Same as To lay to (above). (b) To put before. --Hos. xi. 4. To lay up. (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable. (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship. To lay wait for, to lie in ambush for. To lay waste, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land. [1913 Webster] Syn: See Put, v. t., and the Note under 4th Lie. [1913 Webster]