Definition

1. Verb (Transitive):
   • To arrange or spread something in an orderly way: To place items in a planned or organized manner, often for a specific purpose or to make them visible.
   • To explain or present something in a clear and detailed way: To describe a plan, idea, or argument systematically and thoroughly.
   • To spend a large sum of money: To expend or invest money, often a significant amount.
   • To prepare or make ready: To get things ready for a particular event or activity.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Please lay out all the documents on the table for the meeting. (To arrange orderly)
  • The manager will lay out the new strategy in tomorrow's presentation. (To explain in detail)
  • They laid out a small fortune to renovate their kitchen. (To spend money)
  • We need to lay out the tools before starting the repair. (To prepare)

Advanced Usage

• "to lay out the facts/case": to present information or an argument clearly and completely.

  • The lawyer laid out the case for the jury in a very compelling way.

• "to be laid out": (of an area, building, or text) to be designed or arranged in a particular way.

  • The garden is beautifully laid out with winding paths and flower beds.
  • The report is clearly laid out with helpful diagrams.

Variants and Related Words

• Layout (n): The way in which the parts of something are arranged or laid out.
  • The magazine has a very modern layout.

Synonyms

• Arrange: to put things in a neat, attractive, or required order.
• Explain: to make an idea or situation clear to someone by describing it in detail.
• Spend: to give money as payment for goods or services.
• Prepare: to make something ready for use or consideration.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Lay out is itself a phrasal verb. Its meaning changes based on the context (arranging, explaining, spending).

Related Idioms

• Lay it on the line: to tell someone the truth in a very direct and honest way, even if it is unpleasant.
  • I'm going to lay it on the line: your work has not been good enough. (This idiom shares the sense of presenting something clearly, as in "lay out an argument").

Verb

1. provide a detailed plan or design
   • She laid out her plans for the new house
2. bring forward and present to the mind
   • We presented the arguments to him
   • We cannot represent this knowledge to our formal reason
3. spend or invest
   • lay out thousands on gold
   • he laid out a fortune in the hope of making a huge profit
4. get ready for a particular purpose or event
   • set up an experiment
   • set the table
   • lay out the tools for the surgery
5. lay out orderly or logically in a line or as if in a line
   • lay out the clothes
   • lay out the arguments