Meaning & use
laying low
Last updated
“laying low” is a form of “lie low”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
phraseidiominformal
Staying out of sight or keeping quiet for a while so that nobody pays attention to you, usually to avoid trouble or to wait for a problem to pass.
Grammar: No object; the standard verb is 'lie', so 'he is lying low', though 'laying low' is common in casual speech.
Patterns
- lie low until something happens
- lie low for a while
After the argument at the party, Marco spent a week laying low and avoiding his old friends.
The star has been laying low in a small coastal town since the scandal broke.
I'm laying low this weekend, so please don't tell anyone where I am.
Word forms
| base form | lie low |
|---|---|
| third person singular | lies low |
| past tense | lay low |
| -ing form | lying low |
Common combinations
- keep laying low
- The two suspects kept laying low until the police search moved elsewhere.
- laying low for a while
- I'm laying low for a while after that embarrassing email.
- laying low until things calm down
- She is laying low until things calm down at the office.
- laying low in the countryside
- He spent the summer laying low in the countryside with his aunt.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hide out
- Hide out suggests actually concealing yourself in a particular place, while laying low can simply mean behaving quietly in public.
- keep a low profile
- This is more formal and often describes a deliberate long-term approach, whereas laying low usually describes a short, temporary retreat.
- go to ground
- Go to ground is more dramatic and suggests vanishing completely, as an animal or fugitive would.
Opposites
Word family
- lie low phrase
- the base idiom, meaning to stay out of sight
- low profile noun
- a quiet, unnoticeable way of behaving
- lay low phrase
- past tense of lie low, or, with an object, to defeat or make ill
Commonly confused: laying low or lay low (someone)?
laying low vs lay low (someone)
With an object, it means to knock down or make seriously ill: a fever laid him low. Laying low yourself means staying hidden.
Practice
Which sentence uses the idea of laying low correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Lie low' means stay out of sight. The other options change the verb or the adverb, so they do not form the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “laying low”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.