Lay verb (past tense and past participle laid / leɪd /)

arewell party. 
 - A bus has been laid on to take you home. 
2. lay something on somebody to ask someone to do something, especially something that is difficult or 
something they will not want to do: [giao phó / ủy thác] 
 - Sorry to lay this on you, but we need someone to give a talk at the conference next week. 
3. lay it on (thick) informal 
a) to praise someone or something too much, especially in order to get what you want 
b) to talk about something in a way that makes it seem more important, serious, etc. than it really is = exaggerate 
[ba hoa chích chòe / cường điệu hóa] 
lay somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb 
1. SPREAD to spread something out: 
 - Lay out the map on the table and let’s have a look. 
2. ARRANGE to arrange or plan a building, town, garden, etc. 
 [= set out: phrasal verb 
 a. to start a journey, especially a long journey 
 set out for 
 - Kate set out for the house on the other side of the bay. 
 set out on a journey/drive/voyage, etc. 
 - The band are setting out on a European tour in March. 
 b. to start doing something or making plans to do something in order to achieve a particular result 
 set out to do something 
 - salesmen who deliberately set out to defraud customers 
 set out with the idea/purpose/intention, etc. of doing something 
 - They set out with the aim of becoming the number one team in the league. 
 c. set something ↔ out to explain ideas, facts, or opinions in a clearly organized way, in writing or in a speech: 
 - He set out the reasons for his decision in his report. 
 d. set something ↔ out to put a group of things down and arrange them: 
 - The market traders began setting out their displays. 
 - The garden is laid out in a formal pattern. 
3. EXPLAIN to describe or explain something clearly = set out: 
 - The financial considerations are laid out in a booklet called ‘How to Borrow Money’. 
4. SPEND informal to spend money, especially a lot of money 
 Ngân Phương Vy ~ August 16
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, 2014 LAY / PREPARE 5 
 → outlay /aʊtleɪ/ noun [uncountable and countable] 
 the amount of money that you have to spend in order to start a new business, activity, etc. → expense, cost 
small / modest / considerable / large, etc. outlay 
 - For a relatively small outlay, you can start a home hairdressing business. 
 → outlay on 
 - House buyers usually have a large initial outlay on carpets and furniture. 
lay out something on something 
 - What’s the point in laying out money on something you’ll only wear once? 
5. HIT informal to hit someone so hard that they fall down and become unconscious: 
 - One of the guards had been laid out and the other was missing. 
6. BODY to prepare a dead body so that it can be buried 
lay over phrasal verb American English, to stay somewhere for a short time before continuing your trip → 
layover [tạm nghỉ] 
lay up phrasal verb 
1. be laid up (with something) to have to stay in bed because you are ill or injured: 
 - I was laid up for a week with flu. 
2. to stop using a boat or vehicle, especially while it is being repaired 
lay something ↔ up 
 - Most of the yachts were laid up for the winter. 
3. lay something ↔ up old-fashioned to collect and store something to use in the future: 
 - We started laying up firewood for the winter. 
lay /leɪ/ [transitive verb] to put something on a surface, especially so that it is flat: 
lay something on/across something [trải rộng ra] 
 - She unfolded the map and laid it on the table. 
lay something out/lay out something = arrange something carefully on a surface 
 - Before you start packing, lay out all the clothes on the bed. [bày biện ra hết] 
lay something down/lay down something = put something you are holding onto a surface 
 - Farley laid the gun down and surrendered. [buông xuống / bỏ xuống] 
RELATED WORDS & EXPRESSIONS 
set down /ˌset ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb] to put down something big and heavy which you have been 
carrying - used especially in literature or stories: [trút bỏ (gánh nặng)] 
set something/it/them down 
 - They set the coffin down in front of the altar. 
set down something 
 - The movers brought in the dresser, which they set down against the wall. 
~~(*)~~ 
 Ngân Phương Vy ~ August 16
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, 2014 LAY / PREPARE 6 
PREPARE /prɪˈpeə ~ -ˈper/ verb 
1. MAKE SOMETHING [transitive] 
a) to make a meal or a substance: 
 - Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking. 
 - When we got home, Stephano was busy preparing dinner. 
b) to write a document, make a programme, etc. : 
 - Health and safety officers will investigate the site and prepare a report. 
 - Green set himself the task of preparing a map of this remote area. 
REGISTER 
In everyday English, people usually say that someone makes a meal rather than prepares it: 
 - Who’s making dinner tonight? 
 - I’ll make the gravy. 
2 MAKE PLANS/ARRANGEMENTS [intransitive and transitive] to make plans or arrangements for something that 
will happen in the future = get ready 
prepare for 
 - The 45-year-old explorer has been preparing for his latest expedition to the Arctic. 
prepare to do something 
 - Her parents were busy preparing to go on holiday. 
 - The prosecution wanted more time to prepare their case. 
REGISTER 
 In everyday English, people usually say that someone gets ready for something rather than prepares for it: 
 - We’re getting ready to move next week. 
3 MAKE SOMETHING READY [transitive] to make something ready to be used: 
 - Prepare the soil, then plant the seedlings eight inches apart. 
prepare something for somebody/something 
 - Coulthard’s team were up all night preparing the car for the race. 
4. MAKE YOURSELF READY [transitive] to make yourself mentally or physically ready for something that you 
expect to happen soon 
prepare yourself (for something) 
 - The letter arrived, and we prepared ourselves for bad news. 
 - Can you just give me a couple more moments to prepare myself? 
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, 2014 LAY / PREPARE 7 
prepare yourself for a race/fight, etc. 
 - The Chicago Bears are busy preparing themselves for the big game. 
prepare to do something 
 - Buy the album, and prepare to be amazed. 
5. MAKE SOMEBODY READY [transitive] to provide someone with the training, skills, experience, etc. that they will 
need to do a job or to deal with a situation 
prepare somebody for something 
 - a course that prepares students for English examinations 
 - Schools should do more to prepare children for the world of work. 
 - What does a coach do to prepare his team for the Superbowl? 
6. prepare the way/ground for somebody/something to make it possible for something to be achieved, or for 
someone to succeed in doing something : 
 - Curie’s research prepared the way for the work of modern nuclear scientists. 
THESAURUS 
TO PREPARE FOR AN EVENT 
prepare to make plans or arrangements for something that will happen in the future so that you will be ready 
when it happens: 
 - He only had a few hours to prepare for the interview. 
 - The family are preparing to move to Queensland. 
get ready to prepare for something. Get ready is less formal than prepare and is the usual phrase to use in 
everyday English: 
 - Smith has been busy getting ready for the race. 
 - The army was getting ready to attack. 
make preparations to prepare for an event that needs a lot of planning: 
 - The couple are making preparations for their wedding next year. 
gear up to prepare for an important event – used about companies, organizations, cities, etc.: 
 - Stores are gearing up for the busy Christmas shopping period. 
 - The city is gearing up for the Olympics. 
TO PREPARE SOMETHING SO IT CAN BE USED 
prepare to make something ready to be used: 
 - Have you prepared your speech? 
 - Groundsmen were preparing the pitch for tomorrow’s game. 
get something ready to prepare something. Get something ready is less formal than prepare and is the usual 
phrase to use in everyday English: 
 - They were getting the ship ready to sail. 
set (something) up to prepare equipment so that it is ready to be used: 
 - It will take a few minutes to set the camera up. 
 - The band was setting up on the stage. 
RELATED WORDS & EXPRESSIONS 
1. to prepare for something that will happen in the future 
prepare /prɪˈpeəʳ/ [intransitive verb] to make plans or arrangements for something that will happen in the future, 
so that you will be ready when it happens: ▪ I’ve been so busy that I’ve had no time to prepare. 
prepare for ▪ He only had a few hours to prepare for the interview. ▪ People on the island are preparing for 
another storm.prepare to do something ▪ The company is preparing to expand its European network. 
preparatory /prɪˈpærətəriǁ-tɔːri/ [adjective only before noun] done to prepare for something: ▪ a series of 
preparatory meetings 
get ready /get ˈredi/ [verb phrase] to do all the things you need to do to prepare for a special occasion or event: ▪ 
We’re looking forward to the trip, but there’s so much to do to get ready. 
get ready for ▪ We’ve spent the last few days getting ready for Christmas. 
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, 2014 LAY / PREPARE 8 
get ready to do something ▪ It seems the whole country is getting ready to welcome the visiting president. 
make preparations /meɪk ˌprepəˈreɪʃənz/ [verb phrase] to do all the things you must do in order to prepare for an 
important event: ▪ We set a date of January 8 and began to make preparations. 
make preparations for ▪ We started to make preparations for the wedding about a year ago. 
make your preparations ▪ I made my preparations with great care. 
in preparation for /ɪn ˌprepəˈreɪʃən fɔːʳ/ [preposition] if you do something in preparation for a planned event, 
you do something to make it possible or more likely to be successful: ▪ Japan National Railways was split up in 
preparation for sale to private investors. ▪ In preparation f