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Glite Dictionary
⚰️ To bury ✅ To end doubts
to lay to rest

to lay to rest

7 5.2
To stop a worry, rumor, or feeling by dealing with it
  • phrasal verb
  • /leɪ tu rɛst/
translation icon : disipar
  • To put her worries about the project behind her, she decided to lay her doubts to rest with a detailed plan.
  • lay to rest concerns
  • lay your fears to rest
  • lay your doubts to rest

So we can sort of lay that panic to rest.

Examples

  • "Aye, we should have a vote, if only to lay this matter to rest once and for all," James said.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I have been able to lay to rest some questions regarding her life, her attachment to me, her illness, and other stories I was told.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Of course, we're gonna have to wait and see how the markets react, but that should lay to rest any concerns about the bank's health.

    The Big Short (2015)

  • I'd love to lay this rivalry to rest

    The Return of Jafar (1994)

  • Yesterday, any doubt about the power of Millennials was laid to rest.

    Blog text (7)

  • Whatever doubts may haunt you can be laid to rest by you and you alone.

    Conflict (1945)

  • These reforms have not been enough, however, to lay to rest concerns about the EU's "democratic deficit."

    Academic text (2014)

  • We have officially laid to rest the most common criticisms of the seven Gamers One CPU video.

  • "Good work, Paul," the principal says, generously laying our minor feuds to rest.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The community gathered to lay to rest their beloved leader, honoring his many years of service.

Synonyms

to bury
vsto lay to rest
328 4.1

To try to stop thinking about a memory or feeling

is about ending worry or gossip by resolving or confronting it

Antonyms

to stir up
48 4.8

To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear

How Settled

to end
∞ 1.0
to lay to rest
7 5.2
to allay
14 6.9
to ease
305 2.1
to reassure
163 3.4

Surface Forms

lay to rest infinitive
laying to rest present participle
lays to rest third person singular
laid to rest past
laid to rest past participle

Morphology

lay + to + rest

The verb 'lay' (to place) combined with 'rest' (a state of repose or cessation) concretely suggests 'placing into rest', so a B1 learner who knows the words can likely infer the literal/burial sense. The extended meaning 'to stop a worry or rumor' is a metaphorical extension of that idea (to 'put to rest' something), which is plausible but not fully predictable without prior exposure, making the expression partially compositional.

Etymology

Lay to rest uses the picture of putting a problem or doubt into the ground like a body; if you lay something down and let it rest, it no longer troubles you. That's why it means 'to stop' or end a worry, rumor, or feeling.